The WHY of Kindness

Colossians 3:12 “Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tender-hearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.”

Little acts of kindness can really lighten a burden. It is possible to reach out beyond our own circumstances to help others in their need but it is not always easy. Godly kindness requires a kind of self-denial: it is when we LAY DOWN OUR RIGHTS AND OUR SENSE OF SUPERIORITY, and we humbly allow the Lord to soften our hearts towards others. Our love for Jesus and our desire to follow Him causes us to be kind to others – even those who will never return the kindness.

Real Christian living happens from the inside out, not the outside in. We cannot simply teach our children to “behave kind”. That kind of outward behavioural Christian living on its own promotes self-righteousness and pride. We must also teach our children the WHY of “be kind”. When we are motivated out of our love for Jesus, we will persevere in our efforts to be kind to others. By His strength and His power we can deny ourselves and be kind to others, even when it is not deserved and nobody notices. Ask the Lord to fill you with His Spirit and His love for people.

Be kind to others because God is kind to you when you do not deserve it.