All of the elements of the fruit of the Spirit are important, but none are more important than kindness. I think you will agree that we really, really, really need more kindness in the world today. We have a daily dose of bitterness and unkindness from our political leaders, and from others, every day. It seems that the more we try not to offend anyone, the more offensive and unkind we become. The Holy Spirit has put kindness in our lives, now we need to claim it. The Greek word is “chrestotes” (chres-to-tees), which means goodness of heart – or kindess. It can mean “warm-hearted” as opposed to “cold-hearted.” Christians, of all people, should be warm-hearted. William Barclay suggested the following words in reference to chrestotes – gentleness, kindness.
The first word is “gentleness.” Jesus is the supreme example of this aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. When Jesus saw sick people, even lepers, He reached out and touched them. He was even gentle and kind with the woman caught in the act of adultery in John 8:1-11. Jesus’ first words from the cross gave evidence of His gentle kindness: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” We can call this confession time: I know that I need to be more like this. Will you make the same confession? There is far too much harshness towards each other in our country today, and, I might add, there is far too much harshness towards one another in our churches. The second word is “sweetness.” Before you gag on this word, read on: Why do we belittle sweetness of spirit and attitude today? If you had to be around someone for hours every day, would you prefer that they be irritable or sweet? I’ve worked with both and I choose sweet hands down! While Paul’s irascibility is sometimes evident, he also portrayed a sweetness of attitude and spirit. (For an example of this, read Philippians 1:3-8.) If you had a choice of being remembered as being irritable and mean or sweet and kind, which would you choose? Who in the world wants a reputation of being irritable and mean? It would certainly be a poor witness for a Christian. The Holy Spirit has given us a sweet spirit. Let’s claim it and live it out before the world. I think that sweetness of spirit would make a great impression on this thorny society in which we live. We could start by practicing it in our churches. Just saying! The third word is “mellowness.” The Greek word for yoke in Matthew 11:30 is close to our word for gentleness or kindness. According to Barclay: “Christ’s yoke is called chrestos, that is, it does not chafe and irk and gall.” Jesus calls us to serve and obey Him, but He does not make it irksome. If it appears to be irksome to other people, maybe we need to check our attitudes. In fact, Jesus makes service to and for him joyful. Why? Because Jesus is kind and gentle, and kind and gentle people are not irksome people. Like Jesus, Christian people should be a joy to be around –mellow. This doesn’t mean that we nod agreement to unchristian and unbiblical behavior. It does mean that a winsome and kind spirit will win people to Jesus quicker than a sarcastic and ugly spirit. We can be kind, gentle, sweet and mellow people because the Holy Spirit has given us gentleness and kindness. We need to claim it. People need to see the kindness and gentleness of Jesus in us and in our churches. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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September 2021
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