Guest post by Ginger.
This week is nationally recognized as Random Acts of Kindness Week.
Those who regularly celebrate might throw a couple extra bucks at the coffee drive-through attendant and return their neighbor’s cart to the parking lot corral. They’ll offer to help a sweet, elderly woman load her groceries or leave a few dollar bills taped to the office vending machine.
But is that the Biblical way of showing kindness?
I think we can all agree kindness should affect our lifestyles. As Christians, we should be exhibiting kind actions to everyone we meet, every day. Because we have been saved by grace, we need to be regularly ready to extend grace to others.
The book of Colossians even tells us to put on kindness in the same way we might put on our favorite hoodie or a pair of socks. We need to clothe ourselves in this virtue which sets us apart from those who don’t believe in Christ. Our demeanor and personalities should be wrapped up in kindness.
But should we really celebrate a week of random kindness? Is buying a grande latte for someone we don’t know really what our Savior had in mind?
Kindness should be extended. No one is disputing that. A tired mom could have her day turned around just by the stranger who offers to take her shopping cart to the corral. Coffee certainly has the possibility of warming someone’ soul, and not just their body.
But what about the verse where Jesus specifically talks about loving those around us?
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven… For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?” — Matthew 5:43-46
Even the sinners, the outcasts of society, love those who love them. As a middle-class coffee-lover, it’s not so hard to be kind to the other middle-class Starbucks patrons.
But what about the marginalized? Those who have been cast away by society?
- The homeless man on the street corner
- The drug-addicted family member
- The teen mom in your daughter’s school
- The Muslim family you always see at the store
- The special needs employee who takes too long bagging your groceries
- The lesbian co-worker who sits just down the hall at work
Who is showing them kindness? Are you?
What about the people who have different political views than yours? Or those who have different beliefs or different moral standards? You see them all the time on Facebook, spouting off their views. Maybe they’re fighting hard for the exact same things you’re trying to prevent.
Are you kind to them too?
Maybe our acts of kindness shouldn’t be as random as the week-long holiday might suggest.
What if we were to choose the recipient of our kindness, but narrow in on our enemies and those who are despised? Jesus commands you and I both to love our enemies, are we doing that?
Will you celebrate Random Acts of Kindness week by loving your enemies and being kind to everyone? And what about the week following? Who will be the recipient of your daily kindness?
—
About Ginger:
Married a country boy. Adopted some kids. Birthed another. Took too many pictures. Learned to love scripture and coffee. Inherited a farmhouse. Journaled and hand-lettered a bunch of stuff. Became a missionary. Read, a lot. Served the whole family vegetables, but most certainly ate them all. Wished for a nap.
Any kindness is good, but you are spot-on about our call to love those most would consider “less than”
Thanks, Brooke!
It’s highly important to show kindness and the love of Jesus to everyone we meet, no matter who they are. It’s easy to love our friends and family, but not always easy to love those whom we don’t have anything in common with at all. I wasn’t so sure about this title when I clicked on it, but I sure enjoyed what I read about. Thanks for the reminder!
Yeah, I like surprising people with titles like that sometimes 🙂
Man! This was a great post and I’ll be signing up… found you through EBA and I’m hooked 😀
Glad you enjoyed the post, Julie!
This was an interesting post. But I have to slightly disagree. On the flip side, that person you decided to purchase Starbucks for may be on their way home to commit suicide (I’ve heard of testimonies similar to this and a random act of kindness is why that person is still alive today). Or maybe they recently lost their job and wanted a cup of coffee to drink while they filled out job applications.
Although, it “can” be easy to spot a homeless person on the streets there are people who look as though they are able to keep a roof over their head, but just received a foreclosure notice on their home or had a repo on their only family vehicle. Who knows, perhaps this same person is a lesbian and a non-believer but you just didn’t know.
I definitely agree that we should show kindness everyday to all that we encounter, but we never truly know the backstory of the strangers we meet.
For example, I suffered a miscarry last year that put me into a deep depression for 6 months. On the outside it may have seemed to others my life was perfect. In reality I was hurting deeply on the inside when I saw pregnant women and or their children out and about. I was also angry with Yahweh.
Any act of kindness I received from strangers reminded me that God is faithful and that there are still good people in this world.
I am happy to say that I’m currently 19wks pregnant with a healthy baby girl due in August. My whole point is that we should allow the Holy Spirit to lead us when it comes to blessing others because only God knows what a person is truly going through and will use others as a vessel to encourage the broken, weak, or faithless.
That’s very true. I don’t think we should neglect small random acts of kindness either. But we shouldn’t just stop there. Jesus called us to so much more. If you think of the story of the Good Samaritan, he didn’t just buy his neighbor a cup of coffee. He went to great lengths to help out someone else who would have been considered an “other.” Yes, do the little things. But do the big things too!
Yes you are absolutely correct Brittany. We should use our act of kindness as an opportunity to minister to others 😊❤️.
This was a reminder to me to be humble and kind. I tend to become judgemental and critical of how people look. Excellent reading! Blessings to you!
We never know what a person is going through. People may look okay on the outside but fighting for their life on the inside. We do not know what a person has lived through…abuse…mental, emotional, physical. I have gone without but had to put on a brave face for the sake of my children. When I see anyone with hurt or fear in their eyes I immediately start praying. Everyone needs love…some are too afraid to show it for fear of being judged.