I am intrigued by the word kind and the connotations people conjure up when they hear it. Personally, I think this word often gets thought of in a similar way to the word ‘nice’ which is such a bland word and one that has become widely overused.
I looked up the definition of kind and it is the quality of being friendly, generous and considerate. The plural of kind is kindness and some of my favourite synonyms for kindness are: altruism (selfless concern for the wellbeing of others), compassion, sympathy, hospitality, tolerance and patience.
Suddenly, kindness takes on a whole new importance for me as it encompasses so many other fabulous attributes.
In the bible, the definition of kindness is: an attribute of God and a quality desirable but not consistently found in humans.
It’s interesting that it is seen as a desirable quality but one that is not consistently found in humans.
As an attribute of God, it is one of the nine fruits of the spirit and reveals just a minuscule portion of God’s nature.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” – Galatians 5:22
God encourages us through scripture to put on a heart of kindness;
“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;” – Colossians 3:12
In fact, when we live a life that demonstrates the fruits of the spirit we should be easy to recognise, we’ll be people that stand out for all the right reasons.
Scripture tells us,
“By their fruit you will recognise them.” – Matthew 7:16
As humans we are naturally inclined to be selfish and put our own interests first, prioritising a life that pleases us.
Society actively encourages us to live like this: “be your own person, get what you want, get what you can while you can.” We’ve all heard it before, it’s the ‘you only live once’ approach to life.
Going out of your way to demonstrate small acts of daily kindness is counter cultural.
If we have a new nature once we become spirit-filled Christians then showing kindness should come easily to us and be something that naturally flows out of us into the world and people around us.
We become clear signposts that point to Jesus as we go about doing good like Jesus did.
“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.” – Acts 10:38
When you live intentionally being kind to those around you, you are Jesus to those you meet.
This can look different with each person you meet, like opening a door for someone, buying someone a coffee who is on the streets, leaving someone flowers on their desk, having people round for dinner who may be lonely and the list goes on and on.
I have found that people, especially strangers, are generally taken aback when people show them kindness and expect nothing in return. In fact, they can be quite suspicious as they are expecting it’s going to cost them something in return because nobody does something for nothing, right?
That is what is so awesome about showing kindness, especially to strangers because it blows up their preconceptions about humans and its just so easy to do and such fun. When you show kindness, not only does the person on the receiving end get blessed, but the giver also gets blessed. It’s a win-win situation!
I love the campaign ‘Random Acts of Kindness‘ and their advertising to be a ‘RAKtivist’ (Random acts of Kindness activist), ambassadors of kind. These are people who believe kindness can change the world, one act at a time.
There is also the amazing Kind Campaign that is a non-profit organisation to bring healing to girls who have suffered from girl on girl bullying.
So, it seems that being kind is suddenly in the spotlight and this can only be a good thing for the world we live in that is desperately in need of people who show kindness to each other.
In the words of Mother Teresa;
“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”
What can you do today to leave a trail of kindness behind you?