Conspiring For Kindness: Part 2 Series

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1. Conspire to give away kindness purposefully

A boy came home one day to find his mother sitting at the table with a homeless man. Apparently she had gone shopping, met the tramp along the way, and invited him home for a warm meal. During the conversation the man said, "I wish there were more people like you in the world." Whereupon his mother replied, "Oh, there are. But you must look for them." The old man simply shook his head, saying. "But, lady, I didn’t need to look for you… you looked for me."

I think sometimes we equate kindness with being “reactive”.

So often kindness is about going through life and not hurting or harming someone or something.

So often kindness is about letting others come to you and responding.

So often kindness is about waiting and then “not” responding in a certain way.

Christ experienced kindness is different.

Christ filled kindness is about being proactive, it’s the kind of stuff that pursues people!

Christ filled kindness is not just about your friends, is even more so about your non-friends & enemies, too!

the people who hate you

the people who curse you

the people who talk about you behind your back and discredit you

the people who don’t apologize for the wrong they’ve done in you life

the people who mistreat you

Whenever you see the word “but” or “therefore” in the scriptures look at the previous section.

He has just spent a long night in prayer; He has just selected the disciples; He seeks out to talk to the new 12 and a huge crowd appears from nowhere.He has just healed, and cured, and cast out spirits that the word says so much energy was surging from Him. He’s pouring out all of himself - He’s emptying Himself.

Then He speaks of “blessings”:

20-23"You’re blessed when you’ve lost it all ... You’re blessed when you’re ravenously hungry ... You’re blessed when the tears flow freely ... Count yourself blessed every time someone cuts you down or throws you out, every time someone smears or blackens your name to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and that that person is uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—skip like a lamb, if you like!—for even though they don’t like it, I do . . . and all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company; my preachers and witnesses have always been treated like this.

And then, in pretty much all our translations I believe they cut the section at the wrong place starting with verse 27 and label it “Loving you enemies”. Instead it makes much better to place the divide at the 24th verse, and I love the heading that the Message translation provides: “Giving Away Your Life”.

Yes, Jesus talks about more than just how to love your neighbor - he talks of giving away your life. And that’s so much of what kindness entails.

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2. Conspire to be “un-satisfied”

There’s trouble ahead when you stop emptying; when you get full

There’s a great spiritual deepness in the movie “Finding Nemo”. Do you recall the fish in the fish tank located in the dental office? The tank remains clean because the shrimp, Jaques, and the filter are working to continually empty the tank of all the excess while aiding in the generation of clean water for the tank. But when the tank is not emptied “stuff” begins to build up to the point that it’s cloudy and polluted. And then not only can you not see inside from the out, but you can’t see out from the inside.

24But it’s trouble ahead if you think you have it made. What you have is all you’ll ever get.

25And it’s trouble ahead if you’re satisfied with yourself. Your self will not satisfy you for long. And it’s trouble ahead if you think life’s all fun and games. There’s suffering to be met, and you’re going to meet it.

26"There’s trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests—look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors! Your task is to be true, not popular.

There’s trouble ahead when we are satisfied that we’ve done “enough” kind acts

There’s trouble ahead when we feel like we’ve “arrived” because we were good, God blessed us, and we’re living the anointed life.

There’s trouble ahead when we become desensitized to injustice, poverty, and misfortune.

There’s trouble ahead when we count every homeless person as just another person “faking i” who really makes 6 figures every year begging.

When we stop emptying our spiritual tanks, when we stop actively, proactively emptying ourselves our spiritual tanks we get filled with so much of self and become clouded; polluted even - just like that fish tank. We are no longer a witness, a beacon to the world. No one from the outside can see in - and what they see is pollution, corruption, and filth.