This is Day 2 of a 31 day series on Biblical kindness. You can find the rest of the posts here!
“Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you — not because they are nice, but because you are.” Author Unknown
What do you think of when you see a red heart?
Chances are you associate the heart with love.
Who do you love? My answers would include God, my husband, our children, family members, and friends.
Have you ever thought why you love these people? I’m guessing because they love you, they are your family, they are nice to you, make you feel good and so on.
How do you feel about those people who are mean to you, have stolen from you, make fun of you, or want to destroy you?
God wants us to love our enemies (Luke 6:35 Printable). I don’t know about you but that can be difficult! It’s important though because thankfully, God loves us all. Because God loves us, we need to love, show kindness, and respect to others, even if they don’t to us. It doesn’t mean we agree with their actions, it means we are doing what God asks of us.
When I was young and would come home from school crying because someone had been mean and hurt my feelings, my mom would tell me, “Kill them with kindness”.
What she meant by this is, we don’t know why people act the way they do or what’s going on in their hearts. Sometimes what they need is someone to simply be nice to them to ” kill” that sore spot in their hearts.
We are not supposed to judge others. Sure, it’s ok to say their behavior is unacceptable, but it’s not ok to judge the whole person.
It’s time we look into our own hearts. Who do we need to extend kindness to? Who needs us to forgive them because they sinned? Just because their sin is different from ours, it doesn’t mean it’s worse than ours. That’s God’s judgment to make, not yours or mine!
By loving our enemies and spreading kindness we are setting a good example to our own kids and those around us, showing God’s love to other people who may not have ever experienced God’s love, and it can change hearts.
How can you offer kindness to someone who has hurt you or that you have hurt?
- Apologize to someone you have wronged. We all make mistakes. Ask for forgiveness. Even if the person has a hardened heart and won’t forgive, it will set you free from your bondage.
- Reach out to a person who has been unfriendly to you. Know your boundaries. A smile, offering a cup of coffee or piece of gum are all little ways to extend kindness.
In the end, we are all God’s children.
What ideas do you have to extend kindness and grace to people who have hurt you?
To see the other posts in this series click here.
Have you enjoyed what you read here today? Do you have friends or other women you know that could benefit from this resource? If so, please do me a favor! I have included the links below to share with other intentional women! They’ll be glad you did!
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