“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, KINDNESS, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV)

I think about kindness a lot these days. Days that are hard and discouraging and cry out for the kind words and actions of others. 

In a world of ever-increasing contention and division, where arguments and disagreements are seen daily through the screens of social media and news reports, kindness is the heart cry from many.

 Also referred to as “gentleness” in Galatians 5:22 in some translations, kindness is “the quality or state of being kind, treating people with kindness and respect” (Merriam-Webster definition). It’s the quality of being kind, tender or mild-mannered, friendly, generous, and considerate. 

So many are calling out for more kindness in our world today;  As Mr. Rogers so beautifully said, “There are three ways to ultimate success. The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.”  Growing up, my mother would say to my brothers and me, “Be kind above all else.” 

Kindness matters. It has the power of changing hearts and attitudes. We all can probably think of times when a simple act of kindness made a bad day better. “Random Acts of Kindness” is a growing movement that encourages others to perform random and spontaneous acts of service to a loved one, a neighbor, or even a stranger, because we know now more than ever that KINDNESS MATTERS. 

 “Kindness is spreading sunshine into people’s lives regardless of the weather.”

Author Unknown

Why do we desire to practice kindness? Because we want to make life brighter, easier, more comfortable, and joyful for other people. We know the blessings we receive from blessing others; pouring kindness into other people’s lives results in a positive impact in our own lives. 

Kindness begets kindness.

There is a whole list of issues to disagree about in the world today, but one thing I think we can all agree on is that kindness goes a long way in healing hurts and bridging divisions. 

But let’s face it, our human nature makes it easy to be kind to those we agree with, those who are kind to us in return, to those we love or are fond of. Practicing kindness to those who are not nice in return or those with whom we have strong disagreements with or rub us the wrong way is a struggle.

Frequently I see calls for kindness on social media, but compassion is quickly forgotten at the first sign of disagreement on divisive issues.  Often when we cry out for the world to be more kind, what we really mean is, “Be more kind to ME! Show ME kindness, gentleness, respect, even if you disagree with me!” But we don’t hesitate to be unkind, disrespectful, sarcastic, and condescending when it comes to reacting to those who have different mindsets or beliefs than we do.

It seems that as much as we all desire kindness, we are experiencing a society becoming increasingly less gentle and kind. 

As I watch with frustration the lack of kindness I see around me – from all sides of the aisle, backgrounds, ethnicities, and faiths – I can’t help but ask myself, “How can kindness produce true change?”

I believe the only answer and hope is found in Jesus, not in increasing attempts at kindness.

The word “kindness” found in Galatians 5:22 is the Greek word, “chrēstotēs”, meaning “moral goodness, integrity, benignity, kindness”. It also implies gentleness, goodness and comes from the root word, “chrēstos,” which means “easy, easier, easily”. It signifies “fit for use, able to be used; akin to “chraomai”, meaning “to use” (Strong’s Concordance).

We can see that the character of God is kind, gracious, and good, so our character should be as well. Not because of any natural kindness in ourselves, and not in the hope that our acts of kindness will be returned, but simply because Jesus is kind. 

He has put a deep desire for kindness inside of our spirits because kindness spread among others is what brings us greater good and Him greater glory. He tells us in Ephesians 4:31-32 (HCSB), “All bitterness, anger, and wrath, shouting and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.” 

The Lord wants us to let go of the bitterness, anger, and wrath that tend to crop up when we are in disagreement with others. He tells us to stop shouting, cursing, belittling, and bullying those who have differing beliefs and mindsets from us. He commands us to remove malice from our hearts, the desire for ill-will for another person just because we don’t see eye to eye. 

God not only tells us not to hate our enemies, but He also calls us to LOVE them! That means to be kind to those who disagree with us, rub us the wrong way, and even hate us. “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.  But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.” (Luke 6:32-35 NKJV)

It wasn’t a virtue of Jesus to only love the lovable or only show kindness to those who are kind to us. His nature was to be kind to the unthankful and the evil.

Why did He treat others this way? Jesus knew the end of the story; He knew His enemies would seek His very life, want to destroy Him and His ministry, and call Him an enemy, liar, troublemaker, and traitor. And yet He remained kind. Why?

It wasn’t so He could get something in return, or even in the hope that His enemies would begin to treat Him kindly. He wasn’t kind in order to gain more friends, obtain a more significant following, or create more popularity and support among the people.  

His purpose was to begin the Kingdom Building work of God. 

To make us aware of our sinfulness and the deep need for God and His salvation. 

To bring the hope of heaven to our hearts and the things of God to our minds.

He couldn’t share this gospel message with the people around Him if He did so by being unkind. If Jesus wanted others to see the hope they had in the redemption He would bring them, He had to do so with a kindness that went beyond human understanding. A kindness extended even to those who hated Him because Jesus wanted them to know the grace and mercy He was offering to all sinners, everywhere, for all time.

He healed those with diseases. Jesus touched the lepers with no regard to the physical or social implications this would cause (Matthew 8:1-4). He brought healing to the woman with the issue of blood who touched the edge of His cloak instead of reprimanding her because she was  “unclean” (Luke 8:40-48).

He often spoke about caring for the needs of the poor (Matthew 25:40, Matthew 11:4-6, Luke 14:16-24, Luke 6:21-22).

He fed the hungry (Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-15).

Jesus had real relationships with sinners of all kinds; broken people with broken and hurting lives. He didn’t allow their current sin or messy pasts keep Him from being kind.

Read the stories of how Jesus treated sinners like Zacchaeus, the Samaritan woman at the well, and the woman caught in adultery (Luke 19:1-10, John 4:4-14, John 8:1-11 ). These are just a few of the many ways that Jesus showed kindness to sinners.

Yes, Jesus was the picture of kindness, but He never minimized, justified, or excused sin. In fact, in each of these situations, Jesus spoke directly to the issue of their sin; He didn’t skirt the issue, ignore or justify their iniquity. This was because at the heart of Jesus’ kindness was the desire to deal with the problem of sin and not just the physical or social hardships they faced. He wasn’t kind to make each of these people feel comfortable and ok about their sin. He wasn’t kind to win people over to make more friends and gain a following for His personal cause. 

Jesus’s kindness is a result of His desire for us to recognize our sin; His kindness is meant to drive us to seek forgiveness, redemption, and repentance through Him.

If His kindness were only a matter of wanting to make us feel better about ourselves, He never would have gone to the cross. He would have continued His time on earth healing diseases, feeding the hungry, and preaching to the poor. And He would have been remembered as a very good man, but He would not be known as a Savior. 

Making people comfortable, healing diseases, and bringing ease and plenty into the lives of the people around Him was not His end goal. Bringing salvation was.

Jesus spoke about sin; He didn’t sugarcoat it or ignore it. He came to “seek and save the lost”, those who are lost in their sin. . . which includes every single one of us (see Romans 3:23). He showed the woman caught in adultery kindness and then told her  to “Go and sin no more” (John 8:11)               

One of the kindest things that Jesus did during His ministry, and that He continues to do for us today, is to give an awareness of sin and how it grieves God. In kindness, Jesus shows how sin separates us from God. And then He points us to where we will find rescue, redemption, and restoration. “But that you may know that the Son of Man has power/authority on earth to forgive sins” (Mark 2:10)

I know that many feel bringing an awareness of sin is not kind but is instead an act of condemnation. And they would be right if we only make others aware of their sin but not aware of the Savior and His desire to forgive and rescue them from condemnation. Jesus’ kindness lies in showing us where to find freedom from condemnation. 

The greatest kindness Jesus showed all of mankind was when He took our sins on Himself;  “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (Romans 5:8-10 NKJV).

What does this mean for us as we live lives marked by the Spirit’s fruit of kindness in us?

All those reasons I mentioned earlier – the fact that we want to spread kindness because we desire to make life brighter, easier, and more comfortable for other people – are all wonderful reasons to practice kindness, but what lies at the foundation of that kindness? Could it be that what motivates us to be kind to other people is the desire that they are kind to us in return? That we want our lives made more bright, easy, comfortable, and joyful?

I’m not saying this is a wrong motivation, but what if we practiced kindness the way that Jesus practiced it, the way His spirit works the fruit of kindness into our lives?

If we were to practice kindness as Jesus did, with no regard to ourselves or whether people will be kind in return, what would that look like? 

We’d have compassion for the hurting, the sick, poor, hungry, and sinful.

We’d meet needs where we can and give of our time, energy, finances, and gifts.

We’d volunteer, go on mission trips (which could be in another country or down the street), or financially support others on mission trips, help in homeless shelters, crisis centers and food pantries.

We’d respond with kindness when others disagree with us, when they attack, bully, yell, cuss, slander, or insult us.  

And most of all we would share Jesus and His good news with others. Yes, even talking truth about sin, but always pointing them to the way of escape from the condemnation that sin brings.

We don’t pick and choose whom we are going to be kind to. We show kindness to those we know and love. We give kindness to strangers. We extend compassion to those who hate, are rude to, or rub us the wrong way.  

Kindness is love in action. We don’t just talk about loving others, we show love by showing kindness. “Let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” 1 John 3:18 (ESV).

Christ in us should produce a genuine kindness, courteousness, and politeness that supersedes any tendency towards rudeness or anything that makes us crabby and harsh with one another. The Holy Spirit working His fruit in us results in benevolence, and a desire for hearts that are tender, inclined to empathy and compassion, showing kindness even to those we disagree with.

When we become new creations in Jesus, He changes the way we behave toward one another. We live out Colossians 3:12(ESV), “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.”

This is how God’s Spirit gives us the ability to be kind regardless of how others treat us. This aspect of His fruit gives us compassionate hearts characterized by humility, meekness, and patience, leading to kindness, not because of anything naturally kind within ourselves but because of the kindness of Jesus and what He pours into us through His Spirit.

We are called to be set apart as His chosen people. We are called to be kind. The beautiful truth is that we don’t have to work at it because His Spirit is working His kindness and gentleness into our lives. 

To me, kindness looks like my tough young cowboy as he gently took the hand of his three-year-old cousin as they walked across the busy parking lot of the rodeo grounds. To walk beside another person, taking them by the hand and gently leading them through dangerous territory to a place of safety and rest.

This is kindness because this is love in action.