A kind heart is one of the best virtues we can give our children. Kindness is an attractive quality that will affect a child’s life in a positive way. Putting the needs of others ahead of ones own, taking the time to encourage and not destroy cultivates a harvest that is filled with happiness and success. When parents teach their children to help the poor, feed the hungry, visit the sick, lift up the downtrodden
and give shelter to the homeless, they are teaching a lifestyle that is the standard of Christ.
We should not be surprised that the human imitation of God’s kindness does not come naturally. In fact, ultimately no one is kind (Psalm 14:3; Romans 3:12). It is only as the fruit of God’s Spirit that kindness can be a constant, steady and unchanging fact of the believer’s life experiences.
Jesus makes the understanding of kindness pretty clear. He tells us that showing undeserved kindness to others imitates God’s character. God has shown great kindness to everyone He has made (Psalm 145:9), even to those of His creatures who are ungrateful and wicked. It is through this great Godly kindness He leads all who will listen and learn to repentance, not to rejection of Him (Romans 2:4). In
like manner, we are to respond to people with kindness regardless of their feelings toward us. Whether it is one of love and admiration or one of malice and wickedness, we must respond with Godly kindness. If someone mistreats you because you are a Christian, don’t curse him; pray that God
will bless him. When others are happy, be happy with them. When they are sad, share their sorrow.
People experience happiness through kindness when they feel a sense of achievement flowing from their lives. We become happy when we express kindness through a worthy cause. By doing so the labor of our lives has ultimate meaning. For people to be truly happy there must be a sense of contribution and fulfillment.
Centuries ago, the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Galatia, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23). What Paul seems to be saying is that God intends for us to be happy people. It is through His spirit in us we are satisfied, provided we put to use the virtues of His Spirit. It is God’s will that we accept each other as brothers and sisters, that we show each other warm kindness and affection and that we lead our lives to achieve great things for His Kingdom.
When you teach your child to be kind, you are also teaching him to respect others. As parents, do you show one another respect? There are days in everyone’s life that not everything goes well. On those days, are patience, kindness and gentleness shown to one another or is the household filled with
anger and tension? This does not mean that everyday of your child’s life should be without a problem, nor should life be seen through rose colored glasses. Storms in the experiences of living are character
building. The key to developing compassion is how you, the parent, handle the storm with the right
response. There is not one event or storm in a child’s life that will develop kindness. It is observing a parent over a period of time and how you react to each difficult situation that will make the difference. Children learn early on by your example. When you discipline your child, do you do it out of love and respect? Punishment should never be done in anger. When your children fight, do you shrug it off as sibling rivalry or do you step in and stop the fighting because in your house it is not acceptable?
In this life there is no way we can be perfectly flawless in our pursuit of expressing Godly kindness as Christ Jesus did, but we can certainly aspire to be as much like Christ as possible. Teach your child that he can have peace, not turmoil in his life, if he practices kindness in his daily life.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
A Poem for inspiration from Audrey Hepburn
The following poem is quoted from “Audrey Hepburn” by Barry Paris © 1996 Putnam. Ms. Hepburn would read this poem to children for inspiration.
For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge you'll never walk alone...
People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed and redeemed ...
Never throw out anybody.
Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm.
As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands. One for helping yourself, the other for helping others.
For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge you'll never walk alone...
People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed and redeemed ...
Never throw out anybody.
Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm.
As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands. One for helping yourself, the other for helping others.
Four Kind Men - Mark 2:1-12
Talk about the importance of friendship with your children. Start by asking, do you have a good friend? Maybe you have several good friends. It is nice to have friends and there are times we all are in need of a good friend. The following Bible Story is about a man who had four kind friends.
Word of Jesus’ ability to heal was spreading quickly. He healed a man of an evil spirit and that same day He healed Peter’s mother-in-law. By the time evening rolled around there were crowds of sick people wanting Jesus to heal them. In the morning, Jesus tried to go to a quiet place, but was unsuccessful as many sick people followed. Jesus went on a tour of Galilee with Peter, Andrew, James and John. He taught in the synagogues, preached the gospel of the Kingdom and healed many wherever He went. When He returned to His home in Capernaum, people crowded into a house to hear Him preach.
Among those that came to see Christ were four men. They were carrying a man who was paralyzed. The man could not walk. They must have felt some disappointment when they saw the house was filled and spilling out with people. There seemed to be no way to get their friend to Jesus. While the situation looked bleak, they did not give up. If someone really loves and wants to help a friend in need, he will not give up. One will do whatever it takes to help a friend. Jesus said, “This is My commandment that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). God can use you to help another even when it seems impossible. These four men did not give up.
The four men carried their sick friend to the roof of the house where Jesus was preaching. Bible-time homes were not like our homes today. They were usually flat and the roofs were probably made up of mud mixed with straw. Once on the roof, the four friends began to take the roof apart. When the
hole was large enough, they lowered their friend through the hole.
When Jesus saw the faith of these four friends, He said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” This statement from Jesus did not please some who thought only God could forgive someone of his sins. Was Jesus claiming to be God? Yes. During Jesus’ day it was believed that sickness and disease were the result of sin. There are different factors that can bring about physical sickness. Illness may be the result of violating the principles of health, or the direct result of a person’s sin (Matthew 9:1-7; John 5:14). There are also times that sickness is inherited (John 9:2) or the result of an injury or accident (Luke 13:1-5. Jesus confirms in John 9:1-3 that physical ailments are not necessarily caused by sin. In this paralyzed man’s position, he may have been disabled since birth or his sin may have brought about his illness.
Jesus’ ability to heal was a clear demonstration of God’s power in Christ. Healings performed by Jesus
represented to the world His absolute power over the world, which was given to Him by God. When Jesus told the paralyzed man his sins were forgiven, Jesus was informing the religious leaders He had the ability to forgive sin. Talk such as this was considered blasphemous, an affront to God’s authority and power (Isaiah 43:25) and was punishable by death.
While those who questioned Jesus’ authority did not speak out, Jesus knew what they were thinking. Jesus said, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier to say to the paralytic, ’Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins, He said ‘Arise, take up your bed and go to your house.’”
To the delight of his friends, the paralyzed man immediately got up from the bed and stood. All the people were amazed. There was happiness and joy as the people glorified God and said, “We never saw anything like this!”
Imagine how happy the four friends must have been. They must have been glad they made the effort and did not give up. They had helped in making a difference in someone’s life. When you have a friend that needs Jesus’ kind of love, be sure to give it (I Corinthians 13:4,7).
Word of Jesus’ ability to heal was spreading quickly. He healed a man of an evil spirit and that same day He healed Peter’s mother-in-law. By the time evening rolled around there were crowds of sick people wanting Jesus to heal them. In the morning, Jesus tried to go to a quiet place, but was unsuccessful as many sick people followed. Jesus went on a tour of Galilee with Peter, Andrew, James and John. He taught in the synagogues, preached the gospel of the Kingdom and healed many wherever He went. When He returned to His home in Capernaum, people crowded into a house to hear Him preach.
Among those that came to see Christ were four men. They were carrying a man who was paralyzed. The man could not walk. They must have felt some disappointment when they saw the house was filled and spilling out with people. There seemed to be no way to get their friend to Jesus. While the situation looked bleak, they did not give up. If someone really loves and wants to help a friend in need, he will not give up. One will do whatever it takes to help a friend. Jesus said, “This is My commandment that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). God can use you to help another even when it seems impossible. These four men did not give up.
The four men carried their sick friend to the roof of the house where Jesus was preaching. Bible-time homes were not like our homes today. They were usually flat and the roofs were probably made up of mud mixed with straw. Once on the roof, the four friends began to take the roof apart. When the
hole was large enough, they lowered their friend through the hole.
When Jesus saw the faith of these four friends, He said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” This statement from Jesus did not please some who thought only God could forgive someone of his sins. Was Jesus claiming to be God? Yes. During Jesus’ day it was believed that sickness and disease were the result of sin. There are different factors that can bring about physical sickness. Illness may be the result of violating the principles of health, or the direct result of a person’s sin (Matthew 9:1-7; John 5:14). There are also times that sickness is inherited (John 9:2) or the result of an injury or accident (Luke 13:1-5. Jesus confirms in John 9:1-3 that physical ailments are not necessarily caused by sin. In this paralyzed man’s position, he may have been disabled since birth or his sin may have brought about his illness.
Jesus’ ability to heal was a clear demonstration of God’s power in Christ. Healings performed by Jesus
represented to the world His absolute power over the world, which was given to Him by God. When Jesus told the paralyzed man his sins were forgiven, Jesus was informing the religious leaders He had the ability to forgive sin. Talk such as this was considered blasphemous, an affront to God’s authority and power (Isaiah 43:25) and was punishable by death.
While those who questioned Jesus’ authority did not speak out, Jesus knew what they were thinking. Jesus said, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier to say to the paralytic, ’Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins, He said ‘Arise, take up your bed and go to your house.’”
To the delight of his friends, the paralyzed man immediately got up from the bed and stood. All the people were amazed. There was happiness and joy as the people glorified God and said, “We never saw anything like this!”
Imagine how happy the four friends must have been. They must have been glad they made the effort and did not give up. They had helped in making a difference in someone’s life. When you have a friend that needs Jesus’ kind of love, be sure to give it (I Corinthians 13:4,7).
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