Fruits of the Spirit: Kindness

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Galatians 5:22-23

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.

(ESV)

You take your seat at your favorite restaurant expecting a quiet meal with friends or family only to have the quiet and peacefulness of the moment interrupted by someone else’s cell phone going off at another table.  While I understand some must carry their cell phone for work or that it may be an emergency, as this conversation continues, it quickly becomes clear this call is neither work related nor an emergency.  As the person at the table loudly carries on their conversation, you cannot help but become caught up in the conversation and in the process the once peaceful meal you were expecting is no longer peaceful.  Eva restaurant in Los Angeles has come up with a creative way to prevent this interruption of patrons’ peaceful meals by offering a 5 percent discount for diners willing to leave their phones with the receptionist for the entire meal.  (1)  I want to encourage everyone to show kindness towards their fellow diners by silencing their cell phones if possible and if they receive a call from work or for an emergency, step out to carry on the conversation.

Rudeness is rampant in our modern society and in fact is something we may have fallen in love with and come to expect.  In an article appearing in the August 30, 2015 issue of the New York Post, author Karol Markowicz postulated this theory after a clash between then candidate Donald Trump and Univision reporter Jorge Ramos.  (2)  I must agree with Ms. Markiwicz for all one must do is look at the prominence of reality television and its accompanying drama to observe that people crave the drama that rudeness brings.  In addition, the fast-paced high-tech nature of modern culture has taken a toll on the civility in our society.  (3)  Society is losing its ability to show kindness to others face-to-face and instead are self-absorbed in the tech.  The greatest victim in our rude society, besides the peacefulness of a night out interrupted by someone else’s cell phone conversation is kindness.

Kindness is not just something that happens but a verb requiring action on our part.  (4)  However, acts of kindness are also unselfish acts requiring one to have an unselfish attitude, something seriously lacking in our modern society.  These unselfish acts do not necessarily need to cost one money for we can express them by simply smiling, complimenting someone, holding a door for someone, or praising them for a job well done.  (5)  I therefore urge everyone reading this to take a pause from the fast-paced, self-absorbed, tech of our society and bear the fruit of kindness towards one another. 

Galatians 5:22 lists kindness as one of the fruits of the Spirit.  While we view kindness as a verb describing how we treat others, we must ask what constitutes biblical kindness so we can also begin bearing the biblical fruit of kindness.  The Greek word translated kindness in Galatians 5:22 is crhstothj (6) which carries the added meanings of, usefulness, excellence in character or demeanor, gentleness, goodness, and kindness.  Biblical kindness entails

1)      Usefulness – People tend to gravitate towards a kind person and not someone self-absorbed and rude.  Jesus had compassion towards those approaching him with a need (Matthew 9:36).

2)      Excellent character and demeanor – A character of unselfishness and a lack of rudeness.

3)      Gentleness – Quick to listen, slow to speak and even slower to anger (James 1:19).

4)      Goodness – Wishing no harm upon others and even extending love towards enemies (Matthew 5:43-48, Luke 6:27-36). 

5)      Kindness – Being Christ like in extending kindness to those in need just as Jesus did in His ministry (Matthew25:31-40). 

Forgiveness is also an act of kindness, even if our offer of forgiveness is rejected.  Once again Jesus gives the perfect example of forgiveness and kindness for even though he had the power as God to stop the pain of crucifixion he instead chose to endured it, even offering forgiveness to those crucifying him (Luke 23:34).  If you have not done so already in your life, I urge you to pray with me now and receive the ultimate act of kindness, complete forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

With rudeness and the lack of kindness becoming an epidemic in our culture, it is crucial for the people of God to bear the fruit of kindness.  I recommend hitting the pause button on the hectic fast-paced life and take time to smile, open the door for someone, say excuse me, and thank you.  While some may be in shock at someone daring to take time to show them kindness, it is time for us to shock them with kindness.  I also pray that our acts of kindness will be contagious lessening the course rudeness that seems to have taken over in our culture. 

1. Kim, Erin. Restaurant offers a 5% discount to eat without your phone. money.cnn.com. [Online] CNN Tech, August 16, 2012. [Cited: October 28, 2017.] http://money.cnn.com/2012/08/16/technology/restaurant-cell-phone-discount/index.html.

2. Markowicz, Karol. Loving this golden age of rudeness. nypost.com. [Online] New York Post, August 30, 2015. [Cited: October 28, 2017.] http://nypost.com/2015/08/30/loving-this-golden-age-of-rudeness/.

3. Associated Press. Are Modern Americans a Rude Boorish Lot? www.nbcnews.com. [Online] NBC News, November 14, 2005. [Cited: October 28, 2017.] http://www.nbcnews.com/id/9692880/ns/us_news-life/t/are-modern-americans-rude-boorish-lot/#.WfSzm2hSyUl.

4. Clarke, Justin. Kindness is a Verb. www.honeyfoundation.org. [Online] The Honey Foundation, August 21, 2016. [Cited: October 28, 2017.] http://www.honeyfoundation.org/2016/08/21/kindness-is-a-verb/.

5. Australian Kindness Movement. What is an Act of Kindness. www.kindness.com.au. [Online] Australian Kindness Movement. [Cited: October 28, 2017.] http://www.kindness.com.au/what-is-an-act-of-kindness.html.

6. Strongs Concordance. Crhstothj. www.godrules.net. [Online] God Rules. [Cited: October 28, 2017.] http://www.godrules.net/library/strongs2b/gre5544.htm.