Bearing Kindness That Glorifies God

      If we are going to glorify God by bearing the fruit of the Spirit (John 15:8; Galatians 5:22-23), we must bear kindness.

      While the term translated “kindness” in the NKJV is translated “gentleness” in the KJV, the heart of its meaning, according to Strong’s, has to do with usefulness.  In other words, God-glorifying kindness is being helpful and beneficial to others.

      Paul presents this same concept in Romans 15:2, saying, “Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.”  Edification means to build up.  Edification is the heart of God-glorifying kindness.

      When we speak of edifying, we typically think spiritually.  That is, we think about teaching someone the gospel or helping them understand God’s word.  While these are certainly part of this edification, these are not the whole of it.

      In the sense of being kind, edifying is simply helping people be stronger and better, whether mentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically, financially, etc.  Our goal is to make others better off because we have been in their lives.

      As builders, we need to be construction workers, not demolition crews; redecorators, not destroyers.  We should build up, not tear down.

      Certainly, at times, redecorators need to remove the old.  That may entail tearing down some things and may even be painful.  However, the goal is not to put other people in their place.  It is not to show who is boss or who is better.  The goal, even in these cases, is purely to help other people be better, to add value to them.

      And when this kind of remodeling and rebuilding needs to be done, we should approach the other person with gentleness (Galatians 6:1) and love (Ephesians 4:15).

      Of course, to add this kind of value and benefit to others, we have to take our minds off ourselves.  We have to be humble, viewing others as more important, seeking their benefit above our own (Philippians 2:3-4).  Instead of viewing others as tickets to help us, we need to see how we can help them.

      Finally, someone may ask, “Who is the neighbor that I am to edify, please and help in kindness?”  Remember the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37)?  Every person with whom we come in contact is our neighbor, whether brethren in the church, our family and friends, the people next door, the waiter, the bank teller or Wal-Mart checkout clerk.  We must view all of these as our neighbors and be kind, useful, and beneficial to them – no matter how they have treated us.

      If we will glorify God, we must be kind.  How kind can we be this week?

Edwin L. Crozier