Kindness in a Time of Harshness
For Meditation
The concept of kindness has experienced a bit of a secular boom in recent years. From the “practice random acts of kindness” campaign in the 1990s, to the “Be Kind” signs that seem to pop up everywhere, to all the medical studies that demonstrate kindness is good for our health, everybody seems to think kindness is a good idea. But there seem to be two big problems. First of all, we’re not kind. There is a harshness and meanness in our cultural waters that all of us have drunk to a certain extent. The pandemic has frayed all of our nerves, and few of us can probably claim that we have exhibited our best selves in recent months. But the other problem is, what exactly is kindness? Is it just being nice? Polite? Not being mean?
To get a biblical understanding of kindness, we’ve got to begin with God. In one of the very first revelations of God in the Bible, God is introduced as “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in kindness” (Ex 34:6). That's the Hebrew word Hesed, often translated loving-kindness. This is one of the most frequent descriptions of God in the Old Testament. Though we certainly see God’s anger displayed in Scripture, it is always anger driven by loving-kindness, a disposition that is set on the good of his people. The God of justice and kindness reveals himself, and then calls his people to do justice and love kindness in the world (Micah 6:8). We then see that same kindness incarnated in the person of Jesus, who embodies the loving-kindness of God in the way he treats people, especially the most vulnerable. God’s people are then called to exhibit God’s kindness in Christ in the way they treat one another and their neighbors. We learn from all of this that kindness is not just being nice, it is rather an other-oriented generosity, a deep commitment to the good of your neighbor. This kindness is especially required from God’s people to show toward their enemies, those who cannot or will not reciprocate (Luke 6:23-26).
Unfortunately the church is not known for its kindness. When we feel marginalized or on the defense, our tendency has been to “power up” and go on the attack. Christians often bypass kindness to begin a war of words, or talk among ourselves about how bad the other side is. Our reflex is to fight those who oppose us. But when we lead with caustic harshness, we do tremendous damage to our gospel witness. As Barry Corey writes, too often our centers are firm on conviction, but our external edges are also hard in our tactics. Or on the opposite end, we might be soft both in our convictions and our approach. But being kind means having a firm center, but soft in our edges and leading with love. This kind of approach comes only through the Holy Spirit’s enabling.
As you prepare for worship this week, read Psalm 136. Substitute “kindness” for the word “love” in the phrase “His Love endures forever.” (an equally accurate translation of the word Hesed). Meditate on the kindness of God for you.
Galatians 5:22–23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.
Luke 6:32-36
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.