Working Kindness

Do you consider yourself a kind person?

Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you - Ephesians 4:31-32

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul tells us to be kind toward one another.

But this kindness is not just giving a smile and walking on.  It is working kindness.  It requires effort.

We have to give up things and take on things.  We give up bitterness and anger, anything that might lead us to talk about the other person, even in jest.

And we have to develop a tender heart, to be forgiving and open to all.

This is not easy stuff.  How often do we say something in passing, tell a joke, make a sly remark, not looking to hurt someone, but using them or their story to get attention for ourselves?

We may even see nothing wrong with it, especially if we get a nod or a laugh or a pat on the back.

Pau tells us to speak the truth to one another and about each other, but we know that we can use the truth in a hurtful way.  So, we need a deeper, more meaningful guide if we are to be truly respectful of one another.

We need to hear our words before we speak.  And we need to hear them as if they were spoken about us.

Can we do that?

It would be nice if we didn't have to censor ourselves, if everything that came out of our mouths was true and nice and free of guilt, pain, or abuse.

But, alas, we are not perfect, and it takes more than a desire to be good to each other to make it happen, especially if we are the ones who are hurt by others.

Be angry with them, Paul says, but don't let the anger linger.

Ah, it is not easy to be a Christian.

But I don't think we should give up on our kindness work.  It is worth doing, because we need it to become closer, to truly love each other.

It is meaningful work.

More to come...