Alba 10-12-2025
LOVE IS KIND
I Corinthians 13:4
Some years ago the “Dear Abby” column printed this letter: “Dear Abby, My mother used to be very critical of other family members, but always behind their backs. Any relative who visited her had to listen to endless bad mouthing of 'what's wrong with so and so.'
“One day, one of her grandsons came for a visit. As soon as grandmother started her usual criticizing, he said, 'Now, Grandma, you have 20 minutes to say nasty things about all the people I love, and then we're going to talk about pleasant things.' She was dumbfounded! She did not say anything at all for a full minute, and she didn't use her allotted 20 minutes to bad mouth anybody. As a matter of fact, after that, she changed dramatically, and today she's the sweetest old lady you can imagine!”
First Corinthians is a letter the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, a community faced with divisions and moral challenges. Paul wrote to offer guidance and correction to help unify the believers and encourage them to live according to the love demonstrated by Christ. And in verse four of I Corinthians chapter 13 Paul adds to the description of love saying, love is kind. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines kindness as “having or showing a gentle nature and a desire to help others; wanting and liking to do good things and to bring happiness to others.”
Our world needs more kindness. Every day there are more and more examples of just how cruel people can be to one another. Our society is filled with things like road rage, revenge hit lists, and senseless shootings. Can we really make a difference in our society? The answer is yes and the difference that we can make begins with being examples of simple Christian kindness. So what does that look like?
Kindness is Love in Action
The German philosopher, Nietzsche, who so influenced Hitler, looked at the Christian world and said that Christianity strips strong men of their power because Christianity encourages people to be kind. They spend their energy trying to take care of the feeble and oppressed. Nietzsche said, “If we could rid the world of Christianity then we could develop supermen.” Nietzsche and all who think like him are wrong, because kindness is powerful. Kindness is love in action.
If one is looking for a man, a real man, scripture has it right when it says in Proverbs 19:22 “What is desired in a man is kindness”. Even non-Christians are able to show kindness. In Acts 28:2 we read that after Paul and all the other prisoners had survived the shipwreck, and made it safe to the island of Malta, “the natives showed us unusual kindness; for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome, because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold.”
Here was a pagan people showing Paul and the others great kindness which they very much needed. If non-Christians are able to show kindness, it should definitely be exhibited by those of us who live under the banner of Jesus. And kindness is not merely passive or about being nice; it involves tangible actions that demonstrate care and compassion. Kindness is basically an expression of love practiced in action. Besides that, it is good for you to show kindness.
The Mayo Clinic Health System had an on-line article two years ago entitled “The Art of Kindness”. It contends that kindness is good for the body. Here is what it says: “Kindness has been shown to increase self-esteem, empathy and compassion, and improve mood. It can decrease blood pressure and cortisol, a hormone directly correlated with stress levels. People who give of themselves in a balanced way also tend to be healthier and live longer. Kindness can increase your sense of connectivity with others, decrease loneliness, combat low mood and improve relationships... Looking for ways to show kindness can give you something to focus on, especially if you are anxious or stressed in certain social situations.”
The article also said that kindness is good for the mind saying, “Physiologically, kindness can positively change your brain by boosting levels of serotonin and dopamine. These neurotransmitters produce feelings of satisfaction and well-being, and cause the pleasure and reward centers in your brain to light up. Endorphins, your body's natural painkiller, also may be released when you show kindness.”
(Mayo Clinic Health System, Speaking of Health Thursday, August 17, 2023, The art of kindness by Steve Siegle is a licensed professional counselor in Psychiatry & Psychology in Menomonie, Wisconsin.)
But of course, we should not be kind out of selfish reasons. Because kindness is not only good for us, it is good for others.. Consider the story Jesus told about the Good Samaritan. While others walked on by, the Samaritan felt pity and concern for the man. But the Good Samaritan’s pity didn’t stop with just feeling for the man, he did something about it. The Good Samaritan put love into action – he ministered to the man’s wounds and then took the man to where he could get more help. Remember love is kind; in other words, love takes action and finds its expression through kindness. Kindness will give, kindness will share, and kindness supplies what is lacking or needed.
Now, kindness can be misused. You help someone, and then that person becomes dependent upon you. He or she comes back again and again with open hands for you to repeat the act of kindness. And you begin to realize that repeating your act of kindness is no longer helpful. There are times when kindness says to a spoiled child, “You can't have it.” And you may have to enforce that with a strong physical action. That's kindness. It may not appear to be, but it is. Kindness means seeing the value of every person we meet, and trying to act in accordance with their value and needs. But there is also a spiritual side to kindness. God is love and God is kind. When you show kindness, here is what it looks like:
Kindness is God Working In You
Here is what scripture says in Titus 3:4-7 about the kindness of God. “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Because of the kindness of God, He sent Jesus into this sinful world. When Jesus went to that cross, He was not worried about the cost. Jesus came to save us. That’s what kindness does, it cares for others. This is what God did for us. He looked past our faults, our failures, our short comings, and our sin, and saw our need. Then He provided us with what we needed. And with that example, Ephesians 4:22 tells us to, “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
When we show kindness it reveals that we are children of God. Our kindness is a confirmation that we are followers of Christ. The world around us should see Jesus in our kindness, because kindness is another fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23). When we become Christians, we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit. And the Spirit of God dwells within us to produce good fruit.
The fruit of the Spirit expressed in our lives is like electricity. When you plug something into an outlet it makes a connection to the source, but the electricity will not flow through wires or do anything until the circuit is complete. When you turn on the switch the circuit is completed. In this way the current runs through your electrical appliances to do the work they are designed to do. The electricity that is generated at a power-plant powers all the electrical things you use in your home. In the same way, the Holy Spirit can produce good things in your life if you are plugged in and your kindness switch is turned on.
Last week, we saw that love is patient or long-suffering. Someone said that long-suffering puts up with people, but kindness puts out for people. It was long-suffering that made the Prodigal's father wait and hope. But it was kindness that called for the party to celebrate the son's return. It is the nature of love to be kind, just as it is the nature of the sun to shine.
The most common Greek word for kindness in the New Testament is chrestos. The word for Christ is christos. There is only the one letter difference between them. To be kind and to be Christ-like are very close to being the same thing. Jesus went through His life being kind. He turned funerals into festivals and water into wine. He did not ask whether all He did would pay off or not. Much of it did not. Nine
lepers that He healed did not even come back to say thank you. Many of those He fed and healed did not follow Him. But He was kind because true love is kind.
Our kindness should model the example of Jesus. Think of Jesus meeting the woman at the well. It was rare for a Jewish man to talk with his own wife or mother in public, and it was unheard of to talk to a strange woman. To talk to a Samaritan would be beyond the bounds of dignity. Yet here is Jesus, a Jewish Rabbi, talking to a Samaritan woman at a public well. It is no wonder that the disciples marveled that He talked with her. But it was this kindness toward one who would expect to be condemned that makes it one of the greatest stories of victory in the New Testament. She became a great witness for Jesus bringing many to believe in Him.
There were other moments when Jesus demonstrated tender kindness. He walked by a sycamore tree one day and saw a tax-collector. He could have said, “Zacchaeus, you're the scum of the earth. You have used your power to extort from almost everybody here.” And He would have been right. But in tender kindness he said, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today” (Luke 19:5). And Zacchaeus was changed forever because of the kindness of Jesus.
Frederick William Faber, a British theologian of the 1800's once said, “Kindness has converted more sinners than zeal, eloquence, or learning.” Kindness can change our world, one person at a time, one step at a time with one act at a time.
When someone is particularly kind to us, it will move us to say “Thank you”. In fact, doesn't it make you thankful any time you see someone do a kind deed in this too often evil world? When we get to heaven there are some people we will want to tell “Thank you” for their kindness.
Think of Simon of Cyrene, the man who was made to carry the cross for Jesus after He stumbled and fell on the way to Golgotha. Jesus had suffered much from the beatings and cruel scourging by the Roman soldiers. Even though Simon was made to carry the cross, when we get to heaven we want to say, "Thank you, Simon, for carrying the cross for our Lord."
Or think of the nameless person standing on Calvary's hill who heard Jesus cry through parched lips, “I thirst.” That man took a moistened sponge and pressed it to the lips of Jesus. We feel moved to say, "Thank you for being so kind." Then there were Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus who came after Jesus was dead and took down His body, wrapped it in linen and placed it in a new tomb. We want to say, "Thank you for being so kind."
But most of all we want to thank Jesus who took our place on that cross, taking our punishment for our sins. We have many reasons to be thankful. And in response, we have many opportunities to be kind, like Jesus.
Dr. Harold Dawley, a clinical psychologist, says if we are wise, we will not only check the oil level in our car, but we will check the lubricant level of our lives, and see if we possess an adequate supply of kindness to make life run smoother. If not, we need to add, add, add.
In scripture, we are encouraged, even commanded to show our love with kindness. Colossians 3:12 says, “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering.” When we act with kindness it helps us, helps others and makes us more like Jesus.
CLOSE:
In an Indianapolis prison for women one old woman who had been there for 30 years was known as the terror of the jail. She was a tough wicked person who had broken all of God's
commandments. A Christian woman became the warden of that prison, and when she began her duties, this miserable wretch was brought to her office in chains.
She told the guards to release her. They warned her of the danger, but she insisted. She had compassion on this 70 year old woman whose life had been wasted in sin and folly. She stooped down and lifted her with her arms around her. The old woman was overwhelmed by this act of kindness, and she began to weep as she said over and over, “Do you think that I could be better? Do you think that I could be better?” Nobody ever dreamed that she could, for they labeled her as the worst there was.
One person showing kindness gave her hope that she could be better, and 6 months later she became a Christian. In a year this terror of the jail was better known as the angel of the
jail. Kindness brought her into the kingdom. What all the condemnation of 70 years could not do, kindness did in a short time.
God’s kindness is without limit. Kindness breaks down barriers and boundaries. Kindness opens the door to the fullness of God’s love and fellowship. And we are invited to receive His kindness and salvation in Jesus.
