Welcome to “Going Deeper with the Word.” In this segment, we welcome people of all backgrounds, religious or not, to review the Word of God. The Word of God provides guidance, direction, and instructions for living our lives and walking with God.
Today, we examine how God’s Word provides clear guidance and direction about kindness.
Let’s review examples of God’s Word that can lead and guide our steps and back up the principles we learned in today’s message. I will be reading scripture today from the Amplified Bible.
If you are watching this message online, we invite you to share your comments as we review each verse.
Here is our first verse.
But love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; for your reward will be great (rich, abundant), and you will be sons of the Most High; because He Himself is kind and gracious and good to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Luke 6:35
In this verse, Jesus explains the importance of kindness without constraints. He explains the importance of showing love to enemies and doing good, even lending, expecting nothing in return. He compares this behavior to God, who is kind to those who are wicked and ungrateful.
Of course, we are only human, and our humanness gets in the way of such complete and absolute kindness, but here, Jesus gives us a bar we can strive for in kindness, knowing that the closer we reach this bar, the closer we are to emulating our Father in heaven.
Let’s have a look at another verse.
So, as God’s own chosen people, who are holy [set apart, sanctified for His purpose] and well-beloved [by God Himself], put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience [which has the power to endure whatever injustice or unpleasantness comes, with good temper];
Colossians 3:12
In this verse, Paul details the attributes of one who is holy, including compassion, kindness, and patience. In the pursuit of holiness, we also see reference to the fact that this same individual will obtain the power to endure the challenges that come with offering such unfiltered kindness – including injustices, with good temperament. One could infer that seeking a heart of kindness and humility also equips someone with peace and calm in times of distress.
Let’s look at one last verse.
“Thus has the Lord of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion, to each other; and do not oppress or exploit the widow or the fatherless, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise or even imagine evil in your hearts against one another.’
Zechariah 7:9-10
In this verse, we see yet another reminder of God’s expectations of us. That we should show kindness and compassion to one another. The verse goes on to elaborate that we should not oppress the widow or the orphaned, the stranger, or the poor.
Kindness is a virtue that we should aim to keep in the forefront of our minds. We never know when there will be an opportunity for kindness as we are out and about or even amongst those who are familiar to us.
As mentioned earlier in this message, I invite you to ask God to use you to bring kindness into the world of those who need it – then be prepared for His guidance and leading.
Thank you for your time in reviewing these verses with me today. Please be sure to share in the comments how these or other examples of God’s Word have helped you learn more about kindness.
Thank you for the opportunity to share encouragement. Here @walkinginstepwithGod we truly appreciate your support. We are fully committed to Christ and the community. We invite you to join us in fellowship and to seek opportunities for fellowship in your local community as well.
