Nothing random about being kind

It happened not that long ago; a demonstration of kindness shown to my Mom that touched me deeply. Perhaps the bearer of this kindness didn’t realize what their simple gesture meant, but for me, it was keenly felt. Sitting alone for a few minutes, my Mom was watching some of the children playing, after the evening service. A lady deliberately walked over, from the other side of the room, sat down beside her, and chatted with her for a few minutes. “Just lovely,” I thought to myself!

If you have been the recipient of kindness, you no doubt recognize that sweet sense of having been touched by something greater than us. Perhaps you have even asked yourself: “Why me? What have I done to deserve this?” And there may not be an answer; it is more often the fact that you have done nothing at all to deserve it; that it is, in fact, greater than us. The fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22 implies a harvest, and kindness is a sweet and sadly underrated fruit in our day-to-day lives. Is it any wonder that we are deeply moved when someone meets a real need, in God’s way and in His timing?

Strong’s Concordance states it this way:

“Kindness: well-fit for use, serviceable, beneficial, benevolent.”

By the power of the Holy Spirit, we are both called and equipped to meet a real need; to give that which is both beneficial and benevolent. This implies an understanding of a given situation. It means getting to know one another, in a church family, so that we can truly provide for one another. There are wonderful implications for kindness being shown to those who don’t know Christ; looking for ways to serve others in our community. The “Random-Acts-of-Kindness” movement has, no doubt, benefited many, but as a Christian, there should be nothing random about being kind.

I love the way King Lemuel’s mother speaks, in Proverbs 31:26:

   “She, (an excellent wife), opens her mouth in wisdom, 

and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.” 

I am struck by the juxtaposition of wisdom and kindness in this text, and while it is about a wife, it can be extrapolated for all of us. It is a powerful statement, really. Speaking wisely will mean demonstrating kindness more than selfishness; meeting needs rather than whining about wants; looking for concrete ways to serve rather than digging for useless information in order to criticize. Showing kindness means taking deliberate, concrete action for the betterment of someone else. Its opposite, cruelty, has a sly way of maliciously speaking about someone or it manifests itself in the withholding of love in your marriage or an “I’ll-make-them-pay” attitude toward someone who has grieved you. You will find neither wisdom nor kindness with cruelty on the tongue.

But in the Saviour's wise voice, we hear words of kindness~ beneficial and benevolent, useful and serviceable:

  "I am the good shepherd; 

the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." 

(John 10:11)

"My sheep hear my voice and I know them, and they follow me; and I give eternal life 

to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. 

 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; 

and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 

 I and the Father are one." 

(John 10: 27-30) 

Ah, there you have it. For those who know Christ, we are caught in His capable, nail-scarred hands and He and our heavenly Father shall never let us go.

Kindness, indeed!