How
many times have we seen or known someone in need and ignored him or her?  Have you ever been so busy “doing life” that
you forgot about the rest of mankind traveling through this world with
you?  I have.  I can see face after face in my head when the
Lord was providing opportunities to bless others and I passed them by.  I’m ashamed to admit it but I have found
myself too “busy” to stop and help someone who needs some tenderness shown to
them.

 

This,
obviously, isn’t how the Lord wants us to be. 
I think we can agree on that, right? 
We’ve been looking at the fruit of the spirit in between our Psalms
study.  Paul writes this great passage in
Galatians 5:22-23

 

22 But the fruit
of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such
things there is no law.

 

We’ve
looked at love, joy, peace, and forbearance (patience).  Today, we look at the next in line in the
nine-facetted piece of spiritual fruit: kindness.  What is “kindness”?  Does this mean we are nice to small children,
homeless animals, and old people?  Yes—in
a sense—but it’s deeper than that. 

 

The
Greek word translated “kindness” in our passage refers to “the quality of being
helpful or beneficial” (BDAG, 1090).  It
could be translated “goodness” or “generosity”. 
“Kindness” addresses our relationships to others.  Our relationships with others, dear one, is
in direct proportion to our relationship with God.

 

I’ll
go a step further: our relationships with others are an indication of our
relationship with God.  After all, “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is
a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have
seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen”  (1 John
4:20).  It’s easy to talk of loving
God but the evidence of that love can be seen by our love for those created in
His image.  If someone is cold and
indifferent towards others, they will not be warm towards God. 

 

We
read in James 2:14-17: 14 What good is
it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds?
Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is
without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them,
“Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical
needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if
it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

 

Do
you need to increase your “kindness quotient”? 
If so, here are some pointers:

  1. Study
    the best example: Jesus.  Read Luke 17:11-19 and notice how Jesus
    treated the “untouchables” of His day.
  2. Show
    kindness especially when others are not kind. 
    Read Galatians 6:9-10 and
    never forget: we’re not kind because the world is, we are kind to show it who
    Jesus is.
  3. Practice
    generosity to others.  Read 1 John 3:17-18 and pray the Lord shows
    you the opportunities to be generous in kindness to someone.

 

May
this facet of the fruit of the Spirit be growing heartily in your life this
week.