Kindness Is Priceless

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

COLOSSIANS 3:12

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE KIND? It turns out, not much. It simply takes a loving heart. When our actions come from love, they’ll always be kind. We can even do hard things, like confront a friend, with kindness. In a world where kindness is lacking, God charges us with spreading it to others every day.

Kindness is showing love to others—whether that’s in the way we speak to them, the way we treat them, or the way we think about them. It means we smile and show friendliness. It means we invite others to join our games. It’s as easy as saying please and thank you. Kindness is contagious—when someone has been kind to you, it’s difficult to turn around and be mean to someone else, isn’t it?

And there’s a hidden secret about kindness: being kind to others not only makes them feel good, it makes us feel really good inside. All of that makes God happy. He’s shown the most amazing kindness to us by forgiving us when we ask, sending his Son, Jesus, to be with us, listening to us when we pray, guiding us through life, and inviting us to live in heaven with him. Thanks to God, kindness is around us every day; we just have to look for it—and be willing to share it with others.

DO

Kindness is one of the easiest things to spread around. Think of two people you can show kindness to—maybe something as simple as giving a hug or taking the person a glass of water. Don’t tell the people that you’re intentionally showing kindness; just do it.

PRAY

Dear God,

Thank you for showing kindness to me. Thank you for putting people in my life who are kind. Help me remember to show kindness to others in my thoughts, speech, and actions every day. Amen.

READ

1 Corinthians 13:4-7; Ephesians 4:32