Skip to main content

Kindness II


Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:31-32)
          Yesterday, our conversation about kindness began with the complication of not being a people person. There are other areas of complication. One is motivation. There are some folks who think it doesn’t matter what your motive are, as long as the other person benefits. Scripture makes it clear that such is not the case. That was one of the reasons Jesus rebuked the Pharisees – their deeds might be good, but their hearts were corrupt.
          For some kindness is a means to an end. Back when the Gay Rights movement was beginning, homosexuals launched a “see how kind we are?” campaign. In his book, White Guilt, Shelby Steele relates an incident in which a white man was irritated at how little gratitude the Blacks showed him, after all he’d done for them. President Johnson, in signing the Civil Rights Bill of 1964 into law, said that it would have Blacks voting for Democrats for 200 years. There are people today who go out of their way to try to convince others of how virtuously inclusive they are.
Being “kind” in order to show how kind you are isn’t being kind. It’s using people. It’s exploitation.
There’s another problem. Is it kind to let people believe the lies they want to believe and make them feel good in that belief? Or is it kind to at least try to communicate the truth to them? Is it kind to cover for someone else’s irresponsibility, repeatedly, or is that codependence? Is it kind to let someone do something wrong because you feel sorry for them? Is it kind to let someone abuse you? And what about when we attempt to help someone do what they can and should do for themselves – repeatedly? What happens when kindness smothers? The answers to some of those questions are easy in theory. It’s harder when no big red stop sign appears as a warning.
We’ve been advised to set boundaries to protect ourselves. I suspect we should set boundaries to protect others from us – even from our “kindness.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Shepherd!

                 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep . (John 10:14) God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Genesis 3:14) The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths     for his name’s sake. Even though I walk     through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,     for you are with me; your rod and your staff,     they comfort me. (Psalm 23:1-4) For the Jews, it was politically incorrect to make claims about yourself as a teacher (or possibly as anything else.) Teachers were expected to take pride in the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen To Him

              The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him . (Deuteronomy 18:15)           Today, we switch from Jesus’ claims of “I am” to prophecies made about Him. My Bible platform is starting in Deuteronomy. I’d start in Genesis, where we would learn that the one who would save us would be a descendant of Eve (Genesis 3:15), of Noah (by default), Abram and Sara(Genesis 12:1-3). Isaac (Genesis 17:19), Jacob (Genesis 25:23), Judah (Genesis 29:8), and David (II Samuel 7:12-16). There were also references to a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:22-32). In addition, there were prophecies about when and where the prophet/Messiah would be born and what would happen to him.           Of course, naysayers will claim that Jesus’ life was retrofitted or reverse enginee...
Post a Comment
Read more