#175 A CODE OF KINDNESS 9-22-26
Kindness is not weakness. Kindness is strength under control. It is love translated into action. It is the decision to treat another person with dignity even when they cannot give us anything in return.
The world has plenty of opinions. Plenty of arguments. Plenty of criticism. What the world needs is kindness. “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).
That sounds like a code worth living by. Be kind. Be tenderhearted. Be forgiving.
The Christian does not get to choose kindness only when kindness is convenient. We are called to kindness because we have received kindness from God. “The kindness of God our Savior and His love toward mankind appeared” (Titus 3:4).
God was kind to us when we did not deserve it. Christ was merciful to us when we were sinners. Grace came looking for us. Therefore, grace ought to be visible in us.
A code of kindness begins with our words. “A soft answer turns away wrath” (Proverbs 15:1). We cannot control how everyone speaks to us, but we can control how we answer. Sometimes the most Christlike sentence we can speak is the one we decide not to speak.
Not every battle needs to be fought. Not every insult needs an answer. Not every disagreement needs to become a war. Sometimes kindness means lowering the temperature in the room.
A code of kindness continues with our actions. Jesus said, “Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them” (Matthew 7:12). That is more than avoiding cruelty. It is actively looking for opportunities to do good.
Open the door. Make the call. Give the encouragement. Visit the lonely. Feed the hungry. Forgive the offender. Help the struggling. Notice the person everyone else overlooks. Small kindnesses can carry enormous weight.
A code of kindness also means kindness toward people who cannot repay us. “Love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return” (Luke 6:35).
That is where Christian kindness becomes different. Anybody can be kind to someone who is kind to them. Christ calls us to something deeper. He calls us to reflect the Father. “The Most High is kind to the unthankful and evil” (Luke 6:35).
Imagine what would happen if Christians made kindness part of their daily discipline. Churches would become warmer. Families would become stronger. Communities would become healthier. Strangers would encounter something they may desperately need: a glimpse of Christ.
We may not be able to solve every problem. But we can refuse to become another problem. We can leave kindness behind us wherever we go. And perhaps someday someone will remember us not because we won every argument, accumulated the most possessions, or made the loudest noise, but because we were kind.
That would be a life well lived.
So make it your code. Speak kindly. Act kindly. Forgive freely. Serve quietly. Love generously. And remember why.
“We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
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Father, make us people of kindness. Put gentleness in our words, compassion in our hearts, and generosity in our hands. Help us treat others as people made in Your image and reflect the kindness we have received through Christ. May someone encounter Your love today because we chose to be kind. Amen.
BDD
