A truly kind person is a rarity. Being a kind person means that you are someone who is thoughtful and considerate of other people’s needs and feelings. A kind person is warm and cheerful towards other people. “Kindness is essentially goodness of heart that intends the very best for others.” – John MacArthur. We all love to be treated with kindness. Some of the simplest expression of kindness mean a huge amount. The following quotes expands:
“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” – Leo F. Buscaglia.
“A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.” – William A. Ward,
“Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” – Mark Twain.
“At the end of the day, people won’t remember what you said or did, they would remember how you made them feel” – Maya Angelou.
My favourite acts of kindness are mostly about a generosity of spirit, and leniency towards the imperfections of others. Such kindness is gracious; it overlooks the petty errors and does not go out of the way to make other people look bad unnecessarily. “He who grows in grace remembers that he is but dust, and he therefore does not expect his fellow Christians to be anything more. He overlooks ten thousand of their faults, because he knows his God overlooks twenty thousand in his own case. He does not expect perfection in the creature, and, therefore, he is not disappointed when he does not find it.” – Charles H. Spurgeon.
Kindness is the opposite of meanness. A kind person does not get mad at little things, nor do they have a chip on their shoulder. Kindness conveys love and respect. It causes relationships to bloom and grow. “Those things that are said in love are said kindly, or they are not said in love” – R.C Sproul. Kindness is not just being nice or staying calm in an argument. Kindness is listening with the intent to understand someone else’ point of view without your thoughts, ideas and feelings getting in the way.
Kindness is a very Christ-like characteristic. When we look at the cross, we see the most powerful, unforgettable, eternal example of kindness. Jesus could have at any moment called on legions of angels, and yet, while on the cross, He showed kindness to those persecuting him by crying out, “Father, please forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” Jesus was arrested and trialed before he was nailed to the cross. The One [Jesus] who has the power of life and death in his very hand was threatened with punishment, and yet, He opened not his mouth. He was falsely accused of blasphemy, they spat on His face, He was beaten and mocked. And yet, through it all, He remained lowly in spirit without defending himself. That takes grace! By looking to Jesus, I can see how kindness is a manifestation of patience and longsuffering. The prophet Isaiah (53:5) foretold of it all:
He [Jesus] was wounded for our transgressions
He was bruised for our iniquities
Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
And by his wounds we are healed.
Jesus taught that God’s kindness is uninfluenced by the gratitude or the ingratitude of those to whom it is shown. When Jesus was encouraging his followers to declare themselves to be truly his followers by the way in which they deal with individuals who are not like them at all, he said the following: “Love your enemies! Do good to them, lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He [God] is kind to the ungrateful and to the evil. You must be compassionate, just as your Heavenly Father is compassionate.” – Luke chapter 6:35-36… I have to pause here for a second and pray:
“Lord, if I am ever ungrateful about anything, PLEASE forgive me! I am not worthy of your love, yet you love and bless me everyday.”
To conclude with, I’m reminded of this saying of old, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” In this falling world, sadly the reality is that so many people (for one reason or the other) are in agony of soul. “In truth, life is (for the most part) a long string of unmet expectations, interrupted plans, disappointments, injuries, misunderstandings, bruised feelings, pain and heartache. It is the easy breezy bright days that are rare.” – Joni Eareckson Tada. I think even the toughest of people have their fragile moments.
By a way of comparison, we humans can be often like a reed (a long narrow tender plant with hollow trunk often found in marshes, and near water supply). We may grow tall but at times we bend under the winds and waves. And at times, we break so easy and get carried away during a flood or storm. My only comfort is knowing I can utterly depend on the lovingkindnesses of my Lord Jesus. When the wind and the waves are wild and high, I will look away to HIM [Jesus] who rules the waters; Who speaks His Peace into the angry tide. For this I know, as it is written in Scripture:
“A bruised reed He [Jesus] will not break.” – Isaiah 42:3.
In Christ Alone 