Kindness

Ever wonder about the origin of the word kindness? It struck me recently that we use the same word, kind, for someone or something similar to something else. We speak of two things being the same kind. We speak of other humans as a part of man-kind. It seems to me, in a like manner, kindness is the recognition that others are a part of us…our kin, our kind. We treat them the way we would treat ourselves…or the way we would like to be treated. Kindness is the extension of our definition of our selves to include another being. Kindness is an essential part of love.

In a like way, love might be defined as opening our selves up to include someone or something into our view of ourselves. It is the extension of our concept of our self. We love our teams, our possessions, our pets; we love our families and our friends. Every time we open up ourselves to love something or someone else we extend our selves to include them as part of us. We begin to see others as our kind and, hopefully, to treat them with kind-ness. We rejoice when they rejoice. We feel pain when they feel pain.

I believe one of the purposes of life is growth. I have often used the example of an acorn that pushes up a sidewalk to become an oak tree. We can grow in different areas of our lives. Physical growth and maturity is defined and guided by our DNA. We can also grow emotionally and spiritually. Emotional or personal growth may be defined as coming to understand ourselves better and coming to control our impulses in a way that makes us a stable part of society. Exactly what defines spiritual growth is more controversial.

Though many people these days will tell you they are ‘spiritual but not religious’ they are usually hard pressed to define exactly what they mean by 'spiritual'. I believe only our Creator rightly defines spiritual growth. He understands us far better than we understand ourselves. Out of His love for us He left us a guide for our spiritual growth in His revealed word to mankind. Spiritual growth is defined in scripture using the analogy of fruits...those things that we bring to bear in our lives. For example: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control”. Gal. 5:22-23 KJV According to God’s word these are the qualities that define spiritual growth. Kindness is one of those qualities.

Much of the Christian world is at odds with itself over dos and don’ts and obscure doctrines. We have all but ceased to be the light to the world that God calls us to be because we have forgotten the simplicity that is in Christ. We have forgotten kindness and the other qualities that define spiritual growth. It would do us all good to frequently remind ourselves of those qualities. What God wants from us is a change in our hearts. These qualities are the evidence of that change. These are the things we are to work on. They are beyond any doctrinal debate. It is worth noting that the first mentioned is love…it’s where kindness comes from.

A new commandment I give unto you, That you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. John 13:34