Truth and the Holy Spirit

We often here about small acts of kindness and how much these little efforts can encourage and uplift someone. That is quite true but I would like to add to that the fact that there are no acts of sincere kindness, when it's all said and done, that are small. We're living in a very damaged, injured, beat down, and overly stressed world. Truth is, if you're more than a couple of years old you've felt some of that. It's just the unfortunate, sad state of mankind. Kindness really needs to be what comes natural to us whenever we are around our fellow man. The book of Proverbs describes a virtuous woman as being that way, saying, "in her tongue is the law of kindness" (Prov. 31:26). The description of a virtuous woman in Proverbs 31 is also a description of the nature of the bride of Christ, which we should be seeking and striving to become (Rev. 19:7,8). The scripture tells us that "the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the holy Ghost which is given unto us" (Rom. 5:5). As long as we keep sin out of our lives, that love is going to stay shed abroad in our hearts, and our tongue shall possess that same "law of kindness." If God's love is what is motivating us in our lives then we are naturally going to be kind to everyone around us because that is the way God feels about everyone around us. Someone may say, "Well, there's an awful lot of folks that it's really hard to be kind to." But we should strongly consider and heed what Jesus said about this: "But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil" (Lk. 6:35). Jesus really isn't holding it against anyone for any wrong condition that they may be in, because he is more mindful of getting them REDEEMED from their condition and joined to himself. That is exactly the way that we need to think and like I already said, it IS the way that the Spirit of God in us thinks. You say somebody is being really difficult? The answer to that is easy: "[Love] suffereth long, AND is kind" (I Cor. 13:4).

The scripture rightly says that "a soft tongue breaketh the bone" (Prov. 25:15). There's another true saying that goes along well with that one: "If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee" (Prov. 25:21,22). The apostle Paul quoted this proverb and added something very integral to it: "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good" (Rom. 12:21). When people are not doing well they already have enough working against them. They don't need for us to join them in their ill condition and add to their woes. They need someone to show them some genuine kindness. What is known as a 'small act of kindness' could save someone from something very serious and damaging. A smile of kindness in passing could make all the difference for someone who is contemplating committing suicide. A natural intervention of kindness in some small, random situation could change someone's mind who is stressed out about their marriage, and is on their way to meet someone to commit adultery. A couple of kind and courteous words to a total stranger could alter the path of someone who is considering that killing someone may be the only resolve to a difficult situation that they are facing. Because "a soft tongue breaketh the [hard] bone." In large part it will never be known until the day of judgment how some small act of kindness altered in a positive way the life of someone who was at the very end of their rope. When we possess God's divine, redeeming love in our hearts, and we naturally and freely give it out to those around us; it is absolutely going to have an effect, whether it is apparent to us or not. I'm aware of the fact that there are people who are actually offended by having kindness shown to them, but they are the ones who need it shown to them the most. We simply cannot lose by keeping our hearts in a condition to be kind and sympathetic to the world around us, and in doing so we will keep many others from losing as well. Amen.