Friday 17th February, 2023
“Kindness. n. the quality of being friendly, generous and considerate”
A few years ago, following the death of Caroline Flack the hashtag #bekind trended as people urged one another to treat others as you wish to be treated, because you never know the pain someone is hiding inside.
‘Do unto others’ is one of the foundational teachings of Christ, and one which you don’t need to be a Christian to appreciate. The whole world recognises the intrinsic worth in treating one another with compassion and consideration, even if we don’t always do it.
Kindness isn’t a virtue limited to Christians, in fact, sadly we are starting to become known for our unkind words and attitudes towards others. As the media fueled debate about sexuality and gender identity rumbles on and as America repeals Roe vs Wade, it’s worth us all remembering that we are supposed to be known for our love, and love is kind. Our words matter. Unkind words matter. When we engage in these debates using personal and unkind words we are seen as unloving and cruel, even if we believe what we are saying is right, we must bear in mind that 1 Corinthians 13 does not say “love is correct” it says “love is kind”
Being kind trumps being right every day of the week.
I cannot overstate the power of kindness, I hope that it’s something everyone reading this has experienced. This past weekend I suffered a migraine. My little boy sent me to bed, brought me a glass of water and told me he’d help with dinner; which he dutifully did. The next day my boyfriend made me several cups of tea and fetched painkillers whilst listening patiently to me complain. My head hurt but I felt loved. When we are treated with kindness it reminds us that we are loved, that people care for us, if we’re hurting, it lessens the pain, I honestly believe that if every single human acted with kindness we’d solve most of the worlds problems, certainly the man made ones. This is why kindness is not only foundational to Christianity but to every other religion and ethical system in the world. It’s just common sense.
So Christian. Be kind. When you are kind you are not being uniquely Christian, your atheist, Buddhist, Muslim and Jewish friends will all be seeking to do the same. But you will be being Christlike (and so will they)
