Be Kind To One Another

Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:12

DEFINING KINDNESS . . .

Kindness is a display of the character and heart of God that speaks to every human soul.

EXPRESSING KINDNESSS . . .

• True kindness is an overflow of the kindness of God shown to us in Jesus Christ.

“ . . . so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”  Ephesians 2:7

• It is loving others with kindness the way Jesus has shown His loving-kindness towards us.

• True kindness is produced by the Spirit of God in the life of a Christ-follower.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”  Galatians 5:22-23

• True kindness has the power to soften hard hearts and open closed doors.

“In this batch of mail, I also received a letter from Pastor Ken Smith, then—pastor of the Syracuse Reformed Presbyterian Church.  It was a kind and inquiring letter.  It encouraged me to explore the kind of questions I admire:  How did you arrive at your interpretations/. How do you know you are right? Do you believe in God?  He didn’t argue with my article; he asked me to explore and defend the presuppositions that undergirded it.  I didn’t really know how to respond to Ken’s letter, but I found myself reading and re-reading it.  I didn’t know which box to file this letter in, and so it sat on my desk and haunted me . . . I threw it away a few times but always found myself digging through the department’s recycling bin to reclaim it at the day’s end . . . It was the kindest letter of opposition that I had ever received.  After a week, I called (him).”  Rosaria Butterfield, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert

• Kindness stirs curiosity in the minds of the unsuspecting.

• Kindness is like a non-threatening knock on the closed door of suspicion.

• Kindness is a gentle touch to a wounded

• True kindness pursues in love the one who is wandering and presses in to the one who is unaware.
  • To not pursue the one who is wandering and press in to the one who is unaware is “misdirected kindness.”
    • “misdirected kindness”–the tendency of people to be “kind” to others when the proper, loving, and kind response is something we tend to think of as unpleasant.

• Kindness, not rooted in love, easily becomes more concerned about a person’s happiness rather than their holiness.

“ . . . God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.”  Romans 2:4

“Better is open rebuke than hidden love.  Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.”  Proverbs 27:5-6