Kindness part 1
This Rant series is a little personal to me. You know how they say preacher's who go on a specific sin hunt are usually dealing with the very thing they're preaching against? Well, I'm dealing with the balance between giving people what they need, while also taking care of myself. And I know I always preach about, "If I take care of you and you take care of me neither one of us will have to take care of ourselves." But it doesn't always feel like someone (anyone) is taking care of me. And I know my help, my strength, comes from the Lord. But sometimes it feels like you give, and give, and give and never get anything back. And that leaves you feeling empty. And I know we're connected to the inexhaustable source. We only give what Daddy gave us. What I'm dealing with is the practical application of being kind to everybody no matter what. Which is what Ephesians 4:32 says, "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Forgive... as you have been forgiven. Love... as you are loved. Be kind... as He is kind to you. So, again, I understand where my source is. That's not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about is what happens when what someone else needs (or wants) is in direct opposition to what I need (or want). When the rubber meets the road. When love gets tough. So first things first, let's define what we're tlaking about. "Kind" is number 5543 in Strong's Greek Concordance and it means, "employed, that is, (by implication) useful: - better, easy, good (-ness), gracious." So we're not talking about just saying something to someone (although that in and of itself can be very useful). We're not talking about faith without works. We're talking about charity. Love in action. We're talking about making things better for someone else. Making things easier. Employing ourselves in the service of others. And a real quick aside here, I truly believe that that's how we most FEEL love... when we are loving others. I've found that Jesus was right (imagine that) when He said it was more blessed to give than to receive. Making someone else feel better really does make me feel better. But, again, while I might "know" that, sometimes I need some help to KNOW that. (Head knowledge vs heart knowledge.) And I guess it really comes down to trust. Do you trust Daddy to take care of you? Do you trust Him to fill you back up once you empty yourself out? Once you give everything you have and everything you are to someone else? Do you trust Daddy to hold you up when you're too weak, or too empty, to stand on your own? That kind of trust is hard. And that kind of love is rare. But it's the love that Jesus spoke about when He told us there is no greater love than laying your life down for your friends. And it's the love that Jesus showed us when He layed His life down for us on the cross. So here's what I'm saying--and today I'm just gonna say it, then the next couple of days I'm going to dig into it--put others first. Just do it. What's that old saying? "Always be kind, because everybody you meet is going through a struggle that you know nothing about." Everybody is going through "stuff." And everybody needs the same thing: Love. So since we have it (and more importantly, since we know and believe that we have it) we ought to share it. Give people what they need. Be kind.