In Pursuit of Kindness

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.