Fruit of the Spirit -
Kindness/Goodness
Galatians 5:22-23
May 6, 2018
Have you ever noticed that stories about people being kind and doing good are saved for the very end of most newscasts? What leads off the news each evening?
Stories about murder, terrorism, vandalism, fires, political drama and other not so nice news! But what usually ends the newscast? A story about someone who did good, or a story about a pet who saved their owner. We live in a pretty rough world
When we look at what it means to be a Christ follower, people tend to look at those who try to do good to others, as being wimpy and harmless. You know what I mean? The world struggles with Christians who are more than simply nice.
Well, we’re entering week 5 of our look at the Fruit of the Spirit. And today you’re going to get a special deal . . . It’s a 2 fer day. That means you’re getting 2 sermons in 1. It only happens once in a while, so don’t expect this every week. Now, let’s look again at the Fruit of the Spirit as Paul told the people of Galatia ~
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Today, we’re going to look at kindness and goodness. These two words are related. As I studied this week, I realized that the word good is used in the definition of kindness and kind is used in the definition of goodness. It’s pretty cool. And we really need both to be biblically centered. So, I thought we’d look at both through a biblical story which Jesus told.
Firstly, let’s look at what these words mean ~
The word KINDNESS is defined as goodness, uprightness, gentleness.
It is a useful kindness. It refers to meeting real needs, in God's way, in His timing and manner. Divine kindness is the Spirit-produced goodness which meets the needs of another person, doing so without being harsh or cruel.
We’re talking about a divine kindness as we meet the real needs of another person, without throwing it in their face. It means when you do something for someone, you do it without grumbling and complaining.
Now let’s look at GOODNESS. Goodness is an intrinsic quality, focusing on the inner person. Its focus is on the kindly rather than the righteous side of goodness. The goodness that comes from God; showing itself in a spiritual virtue.
So, that’s where Paul is going with kindness and goodness. It’s a combination of an inner virtue (goodness) and an action oriented virtue (kindness).
Paul is writing to a church which is conflicted. Not everything was rosy in Galatia. If it was, Paul would have had no need to list the sins of the flesh and the Fruit of the Spirit. There were relational issues. And Paul is trying to be an encourager. Encouraging the people to live a life which will demonstrate they are connected to the vine, who is Christ.
To illustrate this I want to tells a story from Luke 15,
25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put Jesus to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 Jesus said to him, What is written in the Law? How do you read it?
27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
28 And Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Let’s stop for a moment and realize something here. Do you know some folks like this guy? They are exhausting! This guy really didn’t want to hear what Jesus had to say. He was more interested in exalting himself as he tested Jesus. The guy knew his Bible, he knew the right answers. He’s one of those guys who knows the Word, but can’t apply it. He’s one of those guys who wanted to talk theology, but didn’t want to do theology. That doesn’t work in the kingdom! He proved he didn’t know who his neighbor was by asking the question. That’s a great question for us as well!! Do you know who your neighbor is?
So, Jesus told him a story ~ 30 “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.
The backdrop to the story is this. He was going from Jerusalem to Jericho. It was about a 16 mile trip. It’s like traveling from church to Starbucks in Muncie. That’s a 16 mile trip. In addition, this guy was going from 2,300 feet above sea level to Jericho’s 800 feet below sea level. As an FYI, Alexandria is 872 feet above sea level. That’s a huge change in a short distance. There were some steep places with narrow passages and it was a great place for robbers to hideout.
The lawyer questioning Jesus would have known this. He knew it was a dangerous road. Jesus didn’t want this lawyer to think abstractly, He wanted to paint a picture for the lawyer, so he could really picture this happening.
This is why Jesus explained this man, wasn’t only robbed, but he was beaten, bloodied stripped naked and left for dead. Jesus continued ~
31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.
Now, here’s a priest, one of the holiest men in the land. The priest sees this guy and walks to the other side of the street. The priest needed to confront this man’s neediness. The man would have been lying there bloody and naked. Now, the priest is faced with a dilemma. If he touches a dead man or gets the dead man’s blood on him, he automatically becomes ceremonially unclean, not for 1 day, but for 7 days. So, the priest makes a quick decision, he passed by the guy on the other side of the road. It was one of those decisions where kindness and goodness were definitely not seen. The priest could have used biblical law to avoid helping this man. He was too important in his community and to be unclean would not have been worth it. So, he passes by, most likely trying not to look at him. You know what I mean? You don’t look his way, you just look straight ahead, acting like he was never there.
Jesus continues ~ 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
Levites had a special place in the temple. They were servants and helped serve during worship; and were interpreters of the law. He should have been eager to help this injured man. He had the opportunity, the wisdom . . . but as the Levite got a good look at this guy, he also made the decision to go to the other side of the road and pass by the half dead guy.
Some commentators have said the priest didn’t stop because he thought the Levite would stop. And the Levite saw the priest didn’t stop, so he thought he should not stop either. Yet, the poor guy lay there dying.
These 2 guys lacked the kindness and goodness we’re looking at. There was no compassion, no willingness to help this guy.
Now Jesus comes to the main point ~
33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.
34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine.
Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.
35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying,
‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’
The guy who helps him is not his neighbor. He’s not from Jerusalem. He’s not from the hood. He’s from the wrong side of the tracks. He’s a Samaritan. That’s key in the story. Jesus tells us the guy from Samaria helps the guy from Jerusalem.
You see, they were enemies. The Jews in Jerusalem and the Samaritan Jews from the north hated each other. The Samaritan Jews didn’t dress like the southern Jews; they didn’t worship the same way, they claimed Bethel was the center of their worship, not Jerusalem. They were considered second class Jews. Yet, this second class Jew helps the first class Jew, while the real neighbors passed by.
Do you see where Jesus is going with this? Out of all the people who could have been neighbors to this man, the one who became his neighbor was the despised foreigner. You could see the lawyer turning redder and redder, not in embarrassment, but in anger. He would have been infuriated.
So, Jesus brings it home, asking the lawyer - -
36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?”
37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” – Luke 10:25-37
Notice when the lawyer responded, he couldn’t even say the good and kind neighbor was the Samaritan. He simply, exhausted and defeated - said . . . ‘yea, the guy who showed mercy.’
And of course, when someone is really helpful, what do we call them? A Good Samaritan!! That phrase has become synonymous with kindness, goodness and compassion. The first hospital I worked at was? Good Samaritan Hospital
So, who is your neighbor? All people, even those who have a low view of you are your neighbors. Even those who don’t like you, who compete with you, who have said not so nice things about you. Man, that hits you, it has to and that’s the point and reason why Jesus told this story.
It was radical! It was all about mercy, and goodness and kindness! Ultimately, it’s all about the heart. And that’s the point of GOODNESS and KINDNESS.
What kindness and goodness share is that the actions that are taking place on the outside are coming from an inner moral sense of right and wrong.
That means our actions are directly linked to our hearts. Genuine love always involves action.
I’ve heard goodness and kindness being described as twin fruits. Kindness is how we act toward others, while goodness is about our heart. You can’t truly show kindness, while having bitterness in your heart.
Can you be kind today? We can begin at home. Is there something you can do for that brother or sister that irritates you at times?
Or what about your spouse? Why not make a cup of coffee or give a back rub without being asked. Be kind. Don’t expect payback!
Is there someone at your school that may need some kindness? Maybe someone who is being picked on. Would you consider that the kindness of Christ might have enough power in your life to start a chain reaction of kindness there? Not doing random acts of kindness, but they are intentional acts of kindness.
And what about that boss or fellow employee who may be super stressed, irritable, or grumpy? Hasn’t Jesus been kind to you when you were less than loveable?
Even to ourselves. Don’t forget about yourself. We can be hard on ourselves, can’t we? Practice goodness and kindness to yourself.
The possibilities are endless. The mother of four in line at the store behind you. Could you be kind to her? Why not let her go ahead of you? You may spend a few more minutes in line, but getting to the car a few minutes faster might just make her day. And who knows? It might help her be kinder to her family.
Kindness and goodness don’t occur just to those we’re good friends with, it extends beyond our imagination. Oftentimes they are small acts of kindness, which occur because of our goodness. They don’t have to be huge deals. Sometimes all someone needs is a reminder they are cared about.
Paul put it this way in Titus 3 ~
3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures,
passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. – Titus 3:3.
It’s obvious from this passage our neighbors aren’t the best of people. Of course, we think we’re good, but our neighbors are thinking this about us, so if we’re thinking that about them, and they are thinking that about us, then I guess that puts all of us in the same boat! We’re all sinners!
But God is kind and good and generous. Listen to what Paul says next . . .
4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,
5 He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy,
by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
6 whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
God knows us better than anyone. He knows we sin. Yet He did not withhold his kindness towards us.
With that in mind, go into the world and make a difference because God has made a difference in your life. Be KIND! Be GOOD!
