Peta Hills
When I first found out I had been given the topic of Kindness I immediately thought that God could never have driven a car or else he would understand that being a driver where nearly everyone else on the road, other than me and my friends and family are bad drivers; Then Tiffany had her accident. She was hit side-on by a speeding car whose driver was on his phone. She was flung onto the bonnet and the windscreen hitting her head on the glass and denting the bonnet. When she came off the car she landed on her feet. A doctor commented that she must have strong bones; other people would have had two or three broken bones.
God was there when Tiffany had her accident. He fully understands what it means to drive a car. Even though he wasn’t driving the car that hit my daughter, he showed his divine kindness by saving not only my daughter’s bones but also her life.
As Sheree has told you with her sermon on Patience; Patience is self-restraint under provocation. Such as the 2 hours I waited in the welfare office (Centrelink) the other day. Kindness is a more physical thing; Kindness takes time; It takes energy. Yes waiting at Centrelink took a lot of my time and energy, but I had no choice in how long I waited. Unlike the man behind me who knew better than anyone else in office design how Centrelink would work so much faster and attend to more people faster, I was self restrained. He gave into his lack of patience, not only in criticising the staff but by getting a chair and sitting down in line, moving his chair forward as each person was served; I had lost control of the situation. When I choose to be kind to someone I am in control. Galatians 5:25 says ‘If we live in the Spirit, let us walk in the Spirit.’ This tells me that the fruit of the spirit is given for us to use not as robots but by choice. I choose to be kind, or not kind. If it were robotic this would suggest obligation, a mechanical legal act that has no love attached. I am being kind to you because I have to; not because I want to.
To better understand kindness as it is written in the New Testament we need to go back to the original Greek. Kindness in the original Greek means kindness or gentleness. It refers to a kindly disposition to one’s neighbours, showing goodness and concern towards others, sympathetic kindness; It can also mean mercy.
Solomon speaks of kindness in Proverbs 19:22a: ‘What is desired in a man is Kindness.’ So Solomon is looking for someone who thinks of others first, before himself; someone who shows kindness to his neighbours and others. That may be well and good but how do we get kindness and who are our role models in it?
Galatians 5:22 lists kindness as the 5th fruit aspect of the Spirit. A gift is freely given. If I give Paula a gift, she is not obliged to use it. If I give her a gift it is hers to do with what she wants. It is the same with the fruit of the Spirit. We are given, love, peace, patience, kindness and the others for us to do with as we wish. That does not mean that we shouldn’t use them, God desired us to do that when he gave them to us. A gift that is never used is like nearly all the plants that I have ever owned; It will eventually die. Kevin Heinze once said that if you can kill a rose you deserve to have a concrete backyard. I am still waiting for the concrete truck. I can kill anything that has foliage, so don’t give me your plants to babysit. I have never killed any pets or children so they will be safe with me.
In regard to role models, God and Jesus are our role models of Kindness. Without looking any further than Jesus himself we can see that God not only showed us great mercy, but kindness when he put his son on Earth. Jesus showed incredible kindness when he died for our sins. Romans 2:4 – ‘can’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?’ We are given the Gifts of the spirit not for ourselves, what good is Kindness if I am the only person I love and are kind to. The Gifts of the Spirit are for others. We are to give them freely, like God and Jesus did.
Another form of kindness is the false kindness. This is not what Paul meant when he said in Philippians 1:2
May the loving kindness of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and give you peace. Fake kindness can be many things. Job’s three friends were showing fake kindness. They could find no way to disprove Job, yet they had condemned him. They thought they were doing the right thing, they thought that they were being kind to him, directing him on the correct path.
The inquisitions of the 15th century were showing the same fake kindness. Like Job’s friends the inquisitors thought they were doing the right thing by killing heretics. The heretics they got to ‘confess’ were blessedly strangled before being burned on the stake. Those that didn’t were forced to feel the heat until they died. One such crime that was brought to the inquisitors was for affirming that simple fornication, which is sex for pleasure or sex without the explicit aim of procreation, was not a sin. Putting it simply, people were punished for enjoying sex.
Kindness is not always easy. It is sometimes easier to tell someone that the hideous lime green jumper they are wearing brings out the colour in their eyes, when what is going through your mind is, ‘What was she thinking?’ It is also easy to pass judgement on people you don’t know. Look at them, lazy dole bludgers don’t want to work, or look at him or her she must be drunk they can’t walk straight. There was this man who lived in Ocean Grove he was a friend of my fathers. I saw him down at the local shop when I was playing pinball. He reeked of alcohol and she slurred his words and he didn’t walk straight; I remember saying horrible things about him to my father. Dad was really good about it and told me that he worked at the local hotel and had probably had a few drinks after work and that he had been in a car accident and had acquired a brain injury. Didn’t I feel small?
Kindness is an aspect of the fruit of the spirit, one that is given so that we can minister to people in a way that will benefit both us and them. It is the result of a relationship between us and the Holy Spirit. Our ability to express Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness and all the other fruit aspects is a direct reflection of how close we are and have been to the Spirit of God. A healthy tree produces healthy fruit, a healthy Christian will also produce healthy fruit.
