Showing kindness to others

We've been studying the character of Christ as revealed by the fruit of the spirit in church for the last few weeks. It's been a good series. Among the "fruits" we've explored has been love, peace, joy and my recent favorite, kindness.

An author of a website on the very topic defined kindness as: having a good or benevolent nature or disposition; desiring to do good to others; the sincere desire for the happiness of others (the thinking).

The author makes an important point, and that is that kindness is not only accomplished through deeds, but through thoughts as well. Outwardly, you can do all the kind things you want, but if you're not thinking kind thoughts, you're not truly being kind. I think that's important, because it's easy to act kind, but if you're not thinking kind thoughts, you're not truly being kind. And it's also important to remember that anyone can perform acts of kindness. But if they aren't doing it for the right reason, then they are missing the whole point of kindness.

During our nearly 9 months of unemployment, we've had a lot of friends and family exhibit the type of kindness that has really warmed my heart. Not only have their actions shown it, but so have their thoughts. We've also had a few people on the other end of that spectrum, which has not made our situation any easier to bear. For those who have exhibited the true Christlike type of kindness, I extend a grateful thank you. All that you have done has been greatly appreciated.

In that spirit, I want to encourage each and every one of you to practice random acts of kindness today and every day.