But the fruit of the Spirit is…kindness (Gal. 5:22 NIV)
Some may think the main task of the Christian life is being “nice,” and they think that means only telling people what they want to hear, never making any waves, and never standing for anything.
Yet the Bible tells us believers are to be kind, and one part of being kind is telling the truth.
One Saturday morning a few years ago my family and I were in a parking lot by southbound Route 220 south of Rocky Mount, Virginia, waiting for some other relatives to arrive so we could drive to the beach together. We noticed a few cars in the neighboring parking lot, where a knot of men were discussing something. To be friendly I waved at them and they soon walked over and one asked if we were from the area, and if we could give them some directions.
“We’re trying to go to Myrtle Beach, and we’re lost. Some of us think we should go left, back to where we came from, but I think we should go right. What’s the right way to go?”
I told him, “If you’re going to Myrtle Beach, you definitely want to go right (to the South), you do not want to go left, or you’ll just go back up north to Roanoke where you came from, and that’s the wrong way. Just go right and keep looking for signs for Martinsville, Greensboro, Asheboro, etc., and that will get you in the right direction. You want to go to North Carolina first and then South Carolina.”
When I asked them about their trip so far, they said they were from Ohio, had left home Friday evening, and had been driving all night and were now thoroughly exhausted and lost. When I asked them what route they had taken to get there, they weren’t too sure but one said, “we were in Maryland at one point during the night.”
It would have been unkind of me…not to mention absurd, to tell them “just go whichever way you want. Do what feels right. All roads lead to Myrtle Beach.” At that moment, there was one right way to go, south, while going north would have taken them further from their goal.
But how often do we refrain from telling people the truth, as it’s revealed in the Bible, for fear of “offending” someone or appearing “narrow-minded”?
When speaking the truth of course we should be loving and tactful, but still answer people’s questions honestly.
What else does the Bible say about kindness?
- Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Eph. 4:32 ESV)
- But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. (Luke 6:35 ESV)
- Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. (Col. 3:12 ESV)
Who needs a kind word or deed from you today?
S.D.G./S.G.D.