KIndness is one of those attributes a Godly person is supposed to have that often goes unrecognized. It is a character of the Holy Spirit that is supposed to shine through in all we do.
Col. 3:12 ¶ Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
Col. 3:13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
Col. 3:14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
Col. 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
It is the one little word in the midst of all those others that is so easy to do. All the other words are difficult , with forgiveness and longsuffering as two of the hardest. So why do we overlook and underestimate the act of kindness?
This life is challenging at times and down right unfair to say the least , or so it can seem. This isn't what the Lord wanted for us in the beginning. In Genesis we see He created for us a perfect world and walked and talked with us daily. We messed it up , by not following the rules our Daddy gave us. Yet, in His kindness, He made a way for us to return to Him.
This week I've been thinking about this simple little word , little did I know I was going to be faced with an opportunity to test it. This wasn't a test like one would think. It wasn't a "pay it forward" moment , though I wished it had been. It was simply that one of my children disobeyed and the result of that disobedience had great consequences for all that were involved. It is out of kindness that I don't go further into detail but , let's just say , it was one of those moments a parent feels like a total failure.
As these things were going on , I could hear in the back of my mind, " Kindness" . Every instinct within me wanted justice , retaliation, punishment , and punishment did ensue , but with kindness . I did , as we say " give the child what for" , but after all was said and done, kindness was what the Lord required .
When someone hurts you, embarrasses you, appears to be something only to find out they are not who they say they are, we naturally put a guard up against future attacks. It is o.k. to beware . It is o.k. to learn from bad experiences , but it is not o.k. , to be unkind. It is not o.k. to be rude , slanderous, backbiting, etc. when we have been wronged. It is so easy to reward evil for evil , but it is not of God to do so.
God is kind. He is kind enough not to wipe us out for all the evil we have done and don't others deserve that same kindness? If you're not "feeling it" , then pray for God to give you the spirit of kindness in that situation and remember when we are weak , He is made strong. Trust that He has it all under control. He will finish what He has begun in you.
Lastly, we are coming upon the season of spring in Texas and of course many will be making ready their gardens and sowing seeds. I encourage you to sow some seeds of kindness and regardless of the situation , do all things with kindness and watch what fruit that will bare. No one deserves to be spoken to ugly or unkindly, no matter what the offense. We are all in this together. God bless ya'll in all you do this week.
