THE POWER OF KINDNESS | Be Kind & Encourage Others - Inspirational & Motivational Video

Do you consider yourself a kind person? Think about it a moment. Are you a kind person? Would your children see you as kind? Your husband or wife see you as kind? Kindness is a very, very Christlike characteristic. And you don't hear much about kindness, but the Apostle Paul says it's the fruit of the Spirit. That is, when the Holy Spirit is free in you and me to live out what God intends for them to live out in us, kindness is going to be one of them. A kind person is a person who stands out in a crowd. They may not be the one who talks the most, but there's something about a kind person. It's sort of a built-in attraction. It's just there. And when a person's kind, it not only shows in their face, but naturally, most of all, in their actions. Proverbs nineteen twenty-two says, What is desirable in a man is kindness. That's Proverbs. What is that? What is desirable in a man that is kindness? Now, what does the world say? Muscular, rich, and all the bunch of stuff that the world has. The Bible says what's desirable in a man is kindness. And if anybody should desire any quality in life, I would place kindness right close to the top. Kindness will change your family. It can change your friendships. It can change the people you mix with. Kindness is a gift from God provided by the Holy Spirit, and we are the channels through which Almighty God speaks kindness to those we live with, those who are our friends, strangers, wherever it might be. Kindness. Kindness changes everything. Now, I wonder if I were to ask people who know you best, what quality are you best known for in your neighborhood? What quality are you best known for at work or at school or wherever you are? I wonder what they would say. What quality would they say? Now, God's very clear what he wants people to say about you. Philippians 4 verse 5, your kindness should be known to all. God wants you to have a reputation for kindness. I want, if I were to go to your neighborhood or go to your work and say, who's the kindest person in your office? Who's the kindest person in your neighborhood? Oh, it's that guy. He's the kindest guy I know. She is the kindest woman I know. I want you to be a man of kindness, a woman of kindness. I want you to be famous for your kindness. That would be a good reputation to have. First Corinthians 16, 14 says, everything you do must be done with love. Now, what's the relationship between love and kindness? Kindness is love in action. That's what kindness is. Kindness is just love in action. Kindness is not an emotion. Kindness is not a feeling. Kindness is not something you feel towards someone. Kindness is something you do towards someone. It is an activity. It is an event. It is an action. Kindness is love in action. You learning to be kind is a big deal because God is kind. Everything you have in your life, you owe to the kindness of God. And in a rude world where people are bad-mannered and uncivil and more polarized than ever before, to be kind is actually to be counterculture. Being religious doesn't make you nice. Being religious doesn't make you kind. You could go to church all your life and be a miserable person with other people. Some of the most unkind people I know were church attenders. Being a religious person doesn't make you kind. Being like Christ makes you kind. God says, I will bless your life the more kind you are. As a man, as a woman, the kinder you are, God says, you be a blessing to other people, I'm going to bless your life. Look at this verse, Proverbs 11, verse 17. Your own soul, the Bible says, your own soul is nourished when you're kind. When you do an act of kindness, remember it's not an emotion, something you do for somebody. You do an act of kindness. Nobody else may even see it. Nobody else may even know it, but God sees it. And he says, I'm going to make sure you get blessed for that. Your own soul will be nourished. Proverbs 3, 27 and 28. Never walk away from someone who deserves your help. Your hand is God's hand for that person. Never tell your neighbors to wait until tomorrow if you can help them now. Proverbs 19, 17. Being kind to the people in need is like lending to the Lord and he will repay you for the kindness you have shown. Anytime you help anybody else in pain, God says, you're being kind, and that's like a loan to me, God says. He says, you're not going to be in my, I'm not going to be in your debt. You're going to be in mine. I will make sure you are repaid for your kindness. Why do we be kind? Because God has been kind to us. God saved you through faith as an act of his kindness. Being saved is a gift from God. Everything I have is because of God's kindness, so I certainly should show kindness to everybody else. It's so easy today to get involved in the unkind things, to be angry. It's so easy to be divisive in this world. There's division in families, there's division in marriages, there's division in friendships, there's division in the community, division in the city, division in the nation. And it's so easy to get involved in being unkind, talking bad about people who aren't in the room, stabbing people in the back, being angry or annoyed, just being unkind in general. But God wants to show us that his loving kindness is in us. When we express loving kindness into our world, we're inviting God into our world. We're literally releasing the Spirit of God into our world. You're releasing Jesus into your world. He's walking around through you. And when you do that, expect power to begin to move. Be kind. For everyone you meet is fighting a great battle. Dear family, we seldom, if ever, know what's going on in the lives of those around us. We seldom ever know what others are up against, what others are struggling with, what hurts and fears and shames and insecurities others are facing, what others are dealing with and being overwhelmed by behind closed doors. Anxious, overburdened, fearful, weary and heavy laden, be kind. For everyone you meet is fighting a great battle. Simple kindness. It's an increasingly lost art in our world, but it's an art our world needs now more than ever. And as my old coach said, the angels in heaven aren't rejoicing over who wins and who loses their battle, but over who is modeling their lives after Jesus Christ throughout it all. So would that we, dear family, be among those who give the angels calls for celebration. Would that we, dear family, be among those who look upon all others with compassion. Would that we, dear family, be among those who labor in kindness daily, trusting as we do that our Lord and Savior was right, that while the laborers of kindness may be few, the harvest can be plentiful. Yes, in a world where everyone we meet is fighting a great battle, our willingness to meet others at midfield with a little kindness, with a little kindness like that could begin to turn the world upside down and start the angels rejoicing.