Kindness Is...

Kindness is the fruit of the Holy Spirit that enables us to show God’s love. Since love is distinguished by how it treats others, then kindness is the essence of that treatment. When the fruit of the Spirit evidences kindness, it ministers sacrificially to the needs of others for no higher reason than to benefit another for God’s glory. It is seeking another’s best interest, not about getting what we want.

BIBLE TRUTH

“But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:4–7 NLT).

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
As a counterfeit to kindness, manipulation is the process of managing people, posturing into a position, and utilizing possessions as a means of achieving control. The objective of manipulation is to bring life resources (people, positions, possessions) under our domain of influence to promote our personal agenda, leading to what we believe will make us complete. If you find yourself experiencing the symptom of anger, consider what means of manipulation you may be employing to counterfeit God’s fruit of kindness.

PRAYER
God, because You chose me to be the holy person that You love, enable me to clothe myself with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. (Col. 3:12)


(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)


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