Spreading Kindness: Living A Simple Life

This is Day 7 of a 31 day series on Biblical kindness.  You can find the rest of the posts here!

“Goodness is about character- integrity, honesty, kindness, generosity, moral courage, and the like.  More than anything else, it is about how we treat other people.” Dennis Prager

If I asked you to describe a successful person, what adjectives would you use?  Wealthy?  Intelligent?  Perseverance?  Finely dressed?  Confident?  Driven?

Our worldly view would probably use all of those adjectives to describe a successful person.  What about a successful person in God’s Kingdom?  In Colossians 3:12 (see below) it says “God’s chosen people” and then gives them the adjectives of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

I don’t know about you but I find it comforting to know that I don’t have to be rich and finely dressed to be considered successful in God’s eyes!  I don’t need designer clothes, a HGTV worthy home, tons of money in the bank, or fancy vehicles!

“Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like.” ~Will Rogers

What do we need to be succesful in God’s eyes?  To be successful I need to be compassionate to others, to spread kindness to people without judgment, be patient, humble and gentle.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

It is simple, but not necessarily always easy!  It’s not easy to let go of the worldly view and the world’s values.  It’s hard to let go of comparison! 

However, for those of us craving a simple life, it can be very freeing!  It’s letting go of what really doesn’t matter and focusing on what does!  It’s living purposely and making decisions that align with our values so we can truly enjoy your priorities.

How can we spread kindness by living a simple life?  Here are 3 ways you can start today!

1. What’s hiding in your closet?  Keep only clothing that you love, that fits, and that you wear!  Donate the rest to a women’s shelter, sell them at a garage sale and donate the profits, or give to a family who can’t afford to go buy clothing and that needs it!
2. Cut back on activities so you have time to spread kindness to others doing things that are on your priority list.  Do you want to volunteer at a hospital, tutor disadvantaged students, or rock babies at the church  nursery?  By clearing out what doesn’t matter and simplifying your calendar you will have time for these opportunities to spread compassion, kindness, and patience!
3. Cut back on excess spending and use that money to fund a charity project.  You all know I love Compassion International and there are many others that are wonderful, too!

I could go on, but I have a little boy with a fever that I need to focus my compassion, gentleness, patience, and kindness towards.

What are you willing to do (or already have done) to live a more simple life to spread kindness to others?

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!