How Kindness Honors God
How Kindness Honors God
Kindness is…
compassion.
tenderness.
helpfulness.
gentleness.
generosity.
selflessness.
forgiveness.
Galatians 5:22 says it is a “fruit of the Spirit.”
Ephesians 4:32 says “and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
When I think of kindness, I think of two things:
Someone who is gentle and sweet.
Someone who goes out of their way for others.
My husband is very gentle and sweet. I knew I wanted to marry a man who was good with children, and I am blessed to say that I did. One of the (many) things I love about my husband is that he is so generous with his time. He will go out of his way for ANYONE. Even if it means less sleep and inconvenience. I‘ve always described him as kind in that way.
Alternatively, I struggle with both of those things. I can get snippy and I do NOT like to be inconvenienced….so I always hesitated to label myself “kind.”
Thankfully, I think my husband is rubbing off on me – s.l.o.w.l.y!
God has really convicted my heart about making excuses based on my “nature.” Just because kindness doesn’t come easy for me (like it does for Jason) – doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be doing it.
“Just because kindness doesn’t come easy for me, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be doing it.”
One of my favorite woman of the Bible is Ruth. Her faithfulness and kindness to Naomi are humbling. Ruth kept her promises – not only to Naomi, but to God. Ruth traveled from her own home to that of a stranger’s. She embraced different customs and ate weird food. She made her self poor and sought only to help her mother-in-law.
Ruth was gentle, sweet, and went out of her way to honor God.
Whenever I am faced with an inconvenience (with children those happen often), I can honor God by not getting frustrated.
When I am confronted with a bad attitude from someone else, tenderness and grace honors God.
Whenever I am asked to go out of my way, helpfulness honors God.
When I have to forgo watching TV to rock a fussy baby, gentleness and selflessness honors God.
Whenever I have been wronged, forgiveness honors God.
Sarah E. Frazer is a writer and Bible study mentor at sarahefrazer.com. She is the wife of Jason and mother of five who all serve as full-time missionaries in Honduras. Her passion is to encourage women to fall in love with the Bible. Sarah is the author of several Bible study resources for women. She shares tools for deep-rooted Bible study at sarahefrazer.com. Follow her on Instagram (http://www.instagram.com/sarah_e_frazer) and join her free prayer challenge at sarahefrazer.com/prayer