Introduction:
1. The slogan started appearing on billboards in the early 1990’s, "Practice Random Acts of Kindness." According to Gavin Whitsett, author of a small handbook entitled, Guerilla Kindness, the movement is a response to the "random acts of violence" that are so much a part of the daily news. The author as well as others who were a part of the movement encouraged others to do little things for people that would make the world a happier place. The suggested such things as: paying the toll for the car behind them at a toll booth, waving to children on school buses, sending flowers to a nursing home, putting nickels in playground sandboxes. The goal was to make you feel good & like you were making a difference. But is the goal of kindness to make us feel good? I don’t think so. (6)
2. Defining kindness is tough. It’s hard to put into words. How would you define kindness? I found a definition more difficult than I anticipated. Although we may struggle with how to define it and with how to put it’s importance into words, that doesn’t mean it’s not significant.
3. It’s the 5th fruit of the Spirit, but that doesn’t mean it’s 5th in importance. I think it has great importance. In fact, kindness has a great deal more impact than most people think. To illustrate that as we begin I want to share a true story that took place several years ago to a man famous for being "kind." When you think of kindness, chances are that one of the first names that comes to mind is Mister Rogers. A year or two before Fred Roger’s death someone in Philadelphia where he lived stole his car. The news media got ahold of the story and before long all the local TV stations were broadcasting the story. Thousands of Philadelphia citizens saw the story, including the thief who stole the car. This criminal had dealt with his own share of difficult times, but he knew that when he was small Fred Rogers had been a positive influence on him. Fred Roger’s kindness prompted him to do something that he had probably never done before. He returned the car. Now, I’m certainly not suggesting that Fred Roger’s brand of kindness is the only kind of kindness there is out there. You don’t have to put on a sweater & invite kids to play in your neighborhood to be kind. But even when it’s that type of kindness, kindness has the power to touch the hearts of the most hardened people.
4. I wish we had enough time, I would love to hear many of your stories of when someone was kind to you. I’m sure if we had a little bit of time to recall we could all tell some wonderful stories. I know when I started thinking about, it didn’t take too long before several experiences from my past quickly came to mind. I’m sure if you spent a few minutes thinking about it you would discover that many people have been kind to you over the years.
5. The February 1978 Readers Digest contained this story of kindness that I thought was particularly good. It was a lonely subzero Wisconsin morning, and the man was fixing a flat tire. He had no hat, and his ears felt like ice. A car pulled to a stop on the other side of the road, and an elderly woman got out and headed across the icy stretch in my direction. When she got to the spot where I was crouched beside my car, she came around behind me and put her warm, gloved hands over his ears. She only said, "They looked so cold I just had to stop." 12
6. Instead of telling the stories of kindness though, let’s turn our focus to God’s word in the brief time we have left to share this morning. Our text is Galatians 5:22-23 as it has been for each of the sermons in this series of messages. As I’ve shared these sermons I can’t figure out why I haven’t preached a series of messages on the fruits of the Spirit before. Hopefully, the series of messages will be worth the wait. Let’s read our text together.
Cell #1-
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. (NAS 95)
Prayer
Cell #2-
I. What Is Kindness All About?
1. For the answer to this question we need to turn to scripture to see what it has to say about kindness. The word "kind" is used 59 times in the NT and the word "kindness" appears another 12 times. There are times that people are spoken of as being kind. For example Dorcas is said to be always doing kind things for others. (NLT)
2. There are also passages which deal with God’s kindness toward us. Ephesians 2:7 speaks of that when it speaks of the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ. That is of course important because we have benefited from that already and will benefit still more in eternity.
3. However, for our focus this morning I want us to think about the text we read a few minutes ago. One of the fruits of the Spirit is kindness. In other words, one of the characteristics of the Christian who is allowing the Holy Spirit to have His way in their life is kindness. To expand our understanding of kindness let’s examine a few passages together. Let’s take a look at Ephesians 4:30-32.
Cell #3-
30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of Redemption.
31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. (NAS 95)
4. He says that there are some things which should be put away from us, in other words they shouldn’t be a part of our lives. When those are a part of our lives it grieves the Holy Spirit. However, I want our focus to be on the final part, verse 32, when Paul tells us that there are tome things that are to be a part of our lives. He says we are to "be kind to one another."
1) This is the same Greek word used in Galatians 5 when he talks about kindness as a fruit of the Spirit.
2) Here, I want you to notice however, that it’s a command from God. We are to be kind to one another. In preparation for this sermon I found several other sermons on kindness on the internet and read them. I guess it should have been very obvious to me, but I was a bit surprised when I read one pastor’s statement that it’s a sin to not be kind. But it is.
5. However, I want to take this a bit farther by looking at another passage, Colossians 3:12. One of the rules of good Biblical interpretation is that things which are really important are going to be taught more than one place in scripture. We might misunderstand one passage, but if God thought it was important enough to put in more than once, it’s being emphasized as especially important. That makes sense doesn’t it? Let’s read Colossians 3:12.
Cell #4-
12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; (NAS 95)
6. Many people think of compassion, humility, gentleness and patience as being godly, but I want you to notice we have here another command to make kindness a part of our lives. We are to make kindness a part of our lives as believers. That leads me to the second major point of the sermon.
Cell #5-
II. Why Is Kindness Important?
1. Although the word "kind" is used many more times in the New Testament, the Greek word most often translated kindness is used 10 times. The KJV translates it differently in various places. It’s translated "goodness," "kindness" and in Galatians 5:22, it’s translated "gentleness."
2. The emphasis of this key word however, is on being. . . well, kind. I mentioned earlier that it’s not as easy to define as I would like. While kindness may be hard to put into words it’s not hard to recognize.
Cell #6-
The Hebrew word for kindness is "Hesed"
"O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love (hesed) endures forever," 1 Chronicles. (RSV)
3. I want us to expand our study of kindness beyond merely the New Testament. Let’s look at a statement about kindness from the Old Testament. This could be a little bit tricky however, because the word is not always translated as kindness, but that is the idea. The primary word for kindness is the word (Cell 6, #1) Hesed. I want to look at 1 Chronicles 16:34. Here the word isn’t translated kindness at all, but the RSV translates it, "steadfast love." In the KJV it’s "mercy." The NAS that I typically use makes it "lovingkindness." But I don’t want that to get in the way of the point the passage makes. Let’s read that verse together. (Cell 6, #2)
4. God’s loving kindness is simply a part of who He is. The idea is sort of that you cannot separate His love & kindness from one another, they are simply a part of Himself. In a perfect world love and kindness would always be connected. God is perfect, so with Him they are always connected. I liked the way one pastor put it. He said, ". . . Just as you cannot truly tell the precise point of the rainbow where the red ends & the orange begins, you cannot tell the point where love begins & kindness ends. The two are connected to one another in an inseparable way. God’s love cannot be completely distinguished from God’s mercy and kindness. They are all tied together." 6
5. I want to consider one other very important thought when it comes to this second major question of why kindness is so important. It’s so important because it’s one of the most effective tools in reaching people with the good news that God loves them. When we don’t demonstrate godly kindness in our lives, the result is that people are turned off to the gospel before they even hear God’s message. What was it that attracted sinners to Jesus? It was His loving kindness toward them that made them want to be around Him. It’s the same for us today. We are not to separate love from kindness. If we love people as we are so frequently commanded to in scripture, we must treat them with kindness. To do less than that communicates that we don’t love them as we should. In fact, think about this for a moment. If we don’t treat people with kindness, most of them won’t even give the gospel a chance.
Cell #7-
"Kindness has converted more sinners than zeal, eloquence, or learning."
FREDERICK WILLIAM FABER (1814–1863)
6. Most people will never be Bible scholars in the true sense of the word, but Bible knowledge alone doesn’t make a person effective in sharing their faith. As Faber pointed out, kindness earns a hearing for the gospel like nothing else can. I love a story that Charles Swindol told a number of years ago in his fine book, Improving Your Serve. It illustrates this very point in a wonderful & profound way.
A number of years ago, Dr. Waltke, a seminary professor, & three pastors, one of which was Charles Swindol toured the mother church of the First Church of Christ Scientist in downtown Boston. The four were unknown to the elderly lady who was going to give them a tour. They didn’t tell her who they were, at least not at first. She showed them several interesting things on the main floor. When they got to the pipe organ she began to talk about their doctrine & especially their belief about no judgment in the life beyond. Dr. Waltke waited for just the right moment & then very casually asked: "But, Ma’am, doesn’t it say somewhere in the Bible, ’It is appointed unto man once to die & after that, the judgment?" The scholar could have quoted Hebrews 9:27 in the Greek, but he was so gracious & tactful. Swindol confessed he was thinking, "Go for it Bruce. Now we’ve got her where we want her!" Without a pause, the lady simply ask, "Would you like to see the second floor?" Dr. Waltke said, "We surely would, thank you." She smiled, somewhat relieved, & started to lead the men up a flight of stairs. Swindol recalled he couldn’t believe it. He was thinking, "No, don’t let her get away. Make her answer your question!" He pulled on the scholar’s arm & said in a low voice, "Hey, why didn’t you nail the lady? Why didn’t you press the point & not let her get away until she answered?" Swindol said he replied, "But, Chuck, that wouldn’t have been fair. That wouldn’t have been very loving, either- now would it?" Swindol said, "Wham, the quiet rebuke left me reeling. I shall never forget that moment. And to complete the story, you’ll be interested to know that in less than 20 minutes he was sitting with the woman alone, gently speaking to her about the Lord Jesus Christ. She sat in rapt attention. He, the gracious servant, had won a hearing by being kind.
Cell #8-
III. What Does Kindness Look Like?
1. While we must lay the proper foundation, in a sense the final point of the sermon is the most important because I hope it will be the most practical. We must know what kindness looks like if we’re to make it a part of our lives.
2. I think of the example of David after he came to the throne in Israel. In those days when a new king came to power he often purged the nation of the former king’s family because they might well try to regain their power. The easiest way to make sure that didn’t happen was to kill them all. When you wiped out the entire family, you came close to making sure they weren’t going to try to kill you and retake the throne. However, the new king did something which went against logic in that day and he did it because of the great love he had for his best friend Jonathan. He wanted to demonstrate special kindness to someone from the family. He found out that his best friend’s crippled son wasn’t being properly cared for & he invited him to be like a son to him. David called this, "the kindness of God." The Hebrew hesed.
Cell #9-
The Greek word for Christ is "Christos"
The Greek word for Kindness is "Chrestos"
Many in the ancient world thought Christians (followers of Christ) were actually "Chrestians" (followers of kindness).
To be kind means to ultimately look like Christ.
3. Now, allow me to seemingly go in a completely different direction to illustrate something another side of the same point. Though we seem to be turning on a dime, don’t panic, it will all come together in just a few minutes. (Cell 9 #1) The Greek word for Christ is "Christos." That’s pretty easy to see isn’t it? (Cell 9 #2) The Greek word for kindness is "Chrestos." Do you see how similar the two words are. In fact the similarity led to some confusion in the early church. (Cell 9 #3) Many in the ancient world thought Christians (followers of Christ) were actually "Chrestians" (followers of kindness). The early believers were so kind to others that they could have been followers of kindness or followers of Christ. In fact, I want to go a step farther. (Cell 9 #4) To be kind means to ultimately look like Christ.
Conclusion:
1. Do you see the importance of kindness? I hope by now you do, but I want to conclude with some very practical help with this important area.
Cell #10-
Statio
Stopping one thing before beginning another
2. The problem is that most of us sometimes get all wrapped up in ourselves. To remedy this we might take the old Bezentine example of something called, (Cell 10 #1) statio. I know this is probably something you’ve never heard of before, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn something from it. Very simply, (Cell 10 #2) Statio, involves stopping one thing before beginning another. Let me illustrate. It might involve turning off your radio 5 or 10 minutes before arriving home, so that you are focus your thoughts on the needs of your spouse and children. Then, when you walk through the door you are ready to be kind to them & really find out about their day. It might mean mentally preparing yourself before calling a sick friend so that you can show practical mercy in their hour of need. It’s the practice that allows us to be kind in a way that isn’t possible if we never slow down long enough to give others needs a thought. (6)
3. The point is that being kind doesn’t happen unless we put some effort into allowing it to happen in our lives. The fruit of the Spirit living in us should naturally be kindness, but we must make sure that we are receptive to what He wants to do in our hearts. Let’s pray.
1) Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke Commentary on the Old Testament, (Cedar Rapids, IA: Parsons Technology) 1999.
2) Albert Barnes, Barne’s Notes on the New Testament, (Cedar Rapids, IA: Parsons Technology) 1999.
3) Bruce Barton, Linda Taylor, David Veerman, Neil Wilson, Life Application Commentary: Galatians, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers) 1994.
4) Frank Gaebelein, Ed. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Galatians, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Corp.) 1998.
5) Timothy George, The New American Commentary: Galatians, (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press) 1994.
6) Philip Kenneson, Life on the Vine, (Downers Grove, IL: IVP) 1999.
7) Joe Bedy, Do You Have a Heart Problem? A sermon delivered at Central Christian Church, St. Petersburg, FL. March 7, 2002.
8) Larry Brincefield, Kinder and Gentler Christians, A sermon delivered February 29, 2004.
9) James Westervelt, Kiwi of Kindness, Grace Fellowship, A sermon delivered in October, 2001.
10) Christopher Raiford, Be Prepared for Christ Coming with Kindness, December 15, 2002.
11) Denn Guptil, Fruit of the Spirit: Kindness & Goodness, October, 2000.
