Kindness and Goodness. – Complimenting Fruit of the Spirit
Practicing Kindness and Goodness is easy to say, but not so easy to execute every day. We know as believers that one advantage of the Christian life is that we have the greatest teacher, Jesus Christ. From his actions and parables and spoken truth, we have a lifetime of lessons to learn and to practice. But to learn something and then to put it into practice and then to make it a habit is challenging. How do we meet that challenge, so that kindness and goodness becomes a mature fruit in our hearts?
If you are old enough to remember Larry Bird (no relation), you knew he was not the most agile or swiftest basketball player. But he could shoot the ball with superior accuracy from every spot around the hoop. “While most players waltzed into the locker room the required 90 minutes before game time, Bird was on the floor more than two hours before tip-off. In the loneliness of Boston Garden, with only attendants and a few Celtics season ticket holders present, Bird shot more than 300 practice shots. He’d start with 6 to 10 free throws, move out on the court a bit, and then start firing away at a comfortable pace as comrade Joe Qatato hit him with perfect passes.” From “Larry the Legend” Maybe we can spend more time in our day practicing goodness and kindness till it becomes as natural as the shooting form of Larry Bird.
This fruit (Kindness and Goodness) of the Holy Spirit compliments each other. In Psalm 145:9, David proclaims the goodness of the Lord. “The Lord is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works.” V. 9. “The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and Kind in all His works.” V. 17. Even though we may trip and fall along our journey with Christ, God will be there to help us; to pick us up. The psalm confirms this in the words “The Lord sustains all who fall. And raises up all who are bowed down.” V. 14.
As we have earlier learned, we only receive this fruit of the Holy Spirit when we abide in Christ. This is when we endure the good and the hardships as we journey with Christ all the days of our life. “It is the one who shares my life and whose life I share who prove fruitful. For the plain fact is that apart from God we can do nothing at all.”
J.B. Phillips We must keep reminding ourselves of this truth.
As believers, Is there a difference in the way we display kindness and goodness? Yes. If we are simply kind and do good deeds for those who are good towards us, then we have not learned what Jesus taught. “And if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.” Luke 6:32
It is by the working of the Holy Spirit with the fruit that we are given and the time we take to cultivate it (it takes a lifetime) that we know the difference. Then we know it is right to be kind and good to the outcast, the ungrateful and even the ones who hate us. As Alistair Begg says “Think that out.” Will it be useful to keep being kind to the ungrateful? Shouldn’t I expect some acknowledgement in return for my repeated kind acts to someone who seems not to care?
But what if God just gave us one chance and then cast us aside when we were ungrateful? We would all be left without hope and not receive His mercy that heals our broken lives. We are thankful that He keeps coming after us and keeps picking us up when we fall. Our willingness to display kindness does not depend on the gratitude or ingratitude of those who we display our kindness towards. Our kindness and goodness must be given to those who may never show it in return. So let us nurture the fruit of kindness and goodness as we are to do with all the fruit given to us by our Heavenly Father. Then we can learn to give it freely and without a need of acknowledgement for it is always to be done for His glory and not ours.
So, Try a Little Kindness; https://youtu.be/lX63u9LEhdQ
And stay humble; https://youtu.be/awzNHuGqoMc