BE KIND AS THE LORD IS KIND

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

A kindhearted woman gains honor, but ruthless men gain only wealth.

Those who are kind benefit themselves, but the cruel bring ruin on themselves.

Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.

Proverbs 11:16, 11:17, 14:31

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

I don’t know about you but I love people who defer to kindness, no matter what. Maybe you know a few people like this, people who always seem to go out of their way to help others, trying consistently to make a difference.

I know I try to be like this in the way I live and I can only pray that I succeed. I say this because it’s not just an aspiration but an expectation for those who are Christian. Being kind is not optional although sometimes in the church, you may wonder if it’s a lost concept.

God’s word is full of inferences to kindness, particularly in the way we are to exercise it. Paul had this to say in his letter to the Galatian church:

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23a

These fruits are to be character traits of all Christians because they were and are character traits of the Savior who which they gain their identity from. Look at Jesus and you will see the perfect personification of these fruits and it is only through being in and of Him that we have any hope of yielding a fruitful harvest within our character as well. It’s little wonder why Jesus said that He was the vine and we were the branches. Connected to Him, the vine, we the branches, will bear the fruits of righteousness.

When we bear the fruits of His righteousness, particularly when it comes to kindness, then we will be the person others see as charitable, benevolent, and philanthropic in the way they live. They will want to know why you are the way you are and when they ask, it’s your chance to proclaim the Lord’s kindness as Isaiah did in this verse:

I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the Lord has done for us— yes, the many good things he has done - according to his compassion and many kindnesses. Isaiah 63:7

Indeed, the Lord has placed His kindness in full display for all to see, if in no other way than His persistent mercy, grace, and love he extends to sinners who are not worthy to receive it, sinners who too often take His kindness for granted. We get a sense that the Christians in Rome had done just that as Paul wrote these words to them:

Do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. Romans 2:4-5

You see, God’s word is clear. We have a choice when it comes to the Lord’s kindness. We can ignore it and welcome His wrath or we can embody it and bring Him honor as Solomon alludes to in this proverb:

Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God. Proverbs 14:31

Friends, all we do should be done in a way that honors God, bringing Him glory. We are to magnify Him through the way we live and kindness is a part of that living. But we will only exercise kindness correctly when we allow it to be an extension of the Lord who proclaimed:

“I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight.”

Jeremiah 9:24b

My prayer now and forever is that we all will seek to be kind as the Lord is kind. Just think of how much better our world would be to live in as a result.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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