Deliberate Kindness

 “For the fruit of the Spirit is . . . gentleness. . .” (Galatians 5:22)

Kindness, being thoughtful, gentle, compassionate, is the fifth characteristic of the Spirit's fruit. What more significant act of kind-heartedness is that God forgave us of our sins and made way for our salvation through His only Son, Jesus? Although we could not, and God does not expect us to duplicate that act of compassion towards humanity, we are to strive for being thoughtful, gentle, and caring towards others in our daily walk.

Is caring behavior easy? Not always. Because many people in our world today are unkind, we must choose deliberate kindness, acting Christ-like towards them. Acting like Jesus means when offended or cruelly treated, react with grace, dealing kindly with that person. We are to respond to others just as Jesus would have done. Extend the same undeserved grace God has extended to you many times.

Read what the apostle Paul said on the matter: “Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirsts, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head” (Romans 12:20). The implication of heaping hot coals on a person’s head was not to inflict harm in retaliation. Just as intense heat is needed to separate impurities from precious metals, that person may be ashamed by your compassion and change their ways after experiencing your kindness. Your acts of grace can “burn off” their life’s junk. And even if they stay unchanged, you have freed yourself of bitterness that sometimes goes with wrongful treatment.

No matter how unkind or cruel people are, God created all of us in His image, and we should treat them accordingly, following Jesus’ example of displaying the Spirit’s fruit.