The lowest and worst have a
claim to our courtesy. - John Wesley, Christian History 2.
In
our town's elementary school at the beginning of the year, the school
secretary routinely collects the lunch money from the new kindergartners. This
solves the problem of lost money. But for nervous 5-year-olds, it took a few
days to understand what was happening.
For two days, the secretary would
come into the room and ask in a loud voice, "Does anybody have any lunch
money for me?" Her question was met with no response.
On the third day, one little boy
came in at the bell, walked hesitantly to the teacher's desk, held out his
hand and whispered, "Here is lunch money from my piggy bank for the poor
lady nobody gives money to." -- June Spivey, Christian Reader, Vol. 34.
Scripture
Text:
Gal. 5:16 So I say,
live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the
sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is
contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that
you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. 19
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity
and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of
rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness,
orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like
this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness
and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to
Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us
not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Kindness (
chrēstotēs {khray-stot'-ace}) is benevolence in action such as God
demonstrated toward men. Since God is kind toward sinners ( cf.
Rom. 2:4 ; Eph. 2:7 ) a Christian should display the same virtue - goodness,
kindness, good, gentleness;
1) moral goodness, integrity 2) benignity, kindness
Kindness is a friendly
attitude toward others.
Opposites: are harsh, rough,
abusive, cruel, rude, and snippy.
Perversions:
negligent, careless, and inattentive.
Definition of Gentleness
is mildness combined with tenderness.
The
Example of the Fruit of Kindness is from: 1The 2:1 (NIV) You know, brothers, that our visit to you was
not a failure. 2 We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as
you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in
spite of strong opposition. 3 For the appeal we make does not spring from
error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. 4 On the contrary, we
speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not
trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. 5 You know we never used
flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed--God is our witness. 6 We
were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. As apostles
of Christ we could have been a burden to you, 7 but we were gentle among you,
like a mother caring for her little children. 8 We loved you so much that we
were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as
well, because you had become so dear to us.
More people have been brought into the church by the kindness of real
Christian love than by all the theological arguments in the world, and more
people have been driven from the church by the hardness and ugliness of
so-called Christianity than by all the doubts in the world.
-- William Barclay, Leadership,
Vol. 9, no. 3.
I.
Gentleness/Kindness must come from the heart and out of God’s love;
It is a desire:
a.
Desire to give the gospel. Good news v. 3 from the heart with sincerity and integrity.
b.
Desire to reveal God with every touch.
We represent God. He trusts us with the Gospel.
We are tried and judged by God and God alone. We do not have hidden reasons or motives.
We are not seeking self-glory.
c.
Desire to show the gentleness and love of God. V.
7. We are gentile with each other. As
a nurse or mother with her own children
We must examine our methods of giving the gospel.
d.
Desire to communicate the gospel.
Don’t force God on others but show Him in love and gentleness. Give
it in love. V. 8
e.
Desire to give of ourselves. God in us. V. 8 Why
because we care for one another.
We give or ourselves, because
you are dear to us.
f.
Desire to see people come to know the Lord. How
can they know Him unless they see Him in us?
II. Kindness comes from a
person who is connected to God and reveals God.
Faith reveals our God.
Let’s give ourselves to others and to the Lord.
How? In a kindness and
gentleness. By Staying in touch
with the Lord we can give the touch of the master’s hand to all those we see
from day to day.
Our pastor was organizing an
evangelistic outreach using small acts of kindness to demonstrate Christ's
love. He phoned several neighborhood grocery stores and laundromats for
permission to do specific services.
On one call, the employee who
answered the phone hesitated, then said, "I'll need to ask the manager,
but first, let me make sure I understand: You want to clean up the parking
lot, retrieve shopping carts, hold umbrellas for customers, and you don't want
anything in return."
"Yes, that's right," our
pastor replied.
After disappearing for a moment, the
employee returned to the phone. "I'm sorry," he said, "we can't
let you do that because if we let you do it, we'd have to let everyone else do
it, too!" -- Ann Jeffries,
Kansas City, Kansas. Christian Reader, "Lite Fare."
In One Church from the Fence, Wes Seelinger writes: "I have spent
long hours in the intensive care waiting room ... watching with anguished
people ... listening to urgent questions: Will my husband make it? Will my
child walk again? How do you live without your companion of thirty years?
"The intensive care waiting
room is different from any other place in the world. And the people who wait
are different. They can't do enough for each other. No one is rude. The
distinctions of race and class melt away. A person is a father first, a black
man second. The garbage man loves his wife as much as the university professor
loves his, and everyone understands this. Each person pulls for everyone else.
"In the intensive care waiting
room, the world changes. Vanity and pretense vanish. The universe is focused
on the doctor's next report. If only it will show improvement. Everyone knows
that loving someone else is what life is all about."
Long before we're in the intensive care waiting room maybe we can learn
to live like that.
n
Hugh Duncan Boise, Idaho. Leadership,
Vol. 16, no. 1.
There
is a story that comes to us out of the long ago of a king who organized a
great race within his kingdom. All the young men of the kingdom participated.
A bag of gold was to be given to the winner, and the finish line was within
the courtyard of the king's palace. The race was run, and the runners were
surprised to find in the middle of the road leading to the king's palace a
great pile of rocks and stones. But they managed to scramble over it or to run
around it and eventually to come to the courtyard.
Finally all the runners had crossed
the finish line except one. But still the king did not call the race off.
After a while one lone runner came through the gate. He lifted a bleeding hand
and said, "O King, I am sorry that I am so late. But you see, I found in
the road a pile of rocks and stones, and it took me a while, and I wounded
myself in removing them." Then he lifted the other hand, and in it was a
bag. He said, "But, Great King, I found beneath the pile of rocks this
bag of gold."
The king said, "My son, you
have won the race, for that one runs best who makes the way safer for those
who follow." -- Bruce
Thielemann, "Christus Imperator," Preaching Today, Tape 55.