The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. Acts 28:2
“The real trouble is that “kindness” is a quality fatally easy to attribute to ourselves on quite inadequate grounds. Everyone feels benevolent if nothing happens to be annoying him at the moment. Thus a man easily comes to console himself for all his other vices by a conviction that “his heart’s in the right place” and “he wouldn’t hurt a fly”, though in fact he has never made the slightest sacrifice for a fellow creature.”
C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) in The Problem of Pain (Québec: Samizdat University Press, 2016) 32.
Happy New Year everyone!
In December I began praying about my word for 2019, the idea I would lean into over time. One day, about a week or so ago, I woke up early to spend time with Jesus. It was just after I returned from Egypt where I experienced rich hospitality. The word “kindness” came to me.
I’ve mulled over it and am convinced this word is a gift from God to me for 2019.
Kindness is generosity combined with sacrifice and love. It thinks about others and acts on their behalf. As we see in today’s Scripture, kindness is “unusual” as most people think and act only for themselves. Or, as Lewis notes, some rationalize their benevolence in their minds but fail to live it out toward others.
What about you? What comes to your mind when you think of kindness?
Over the course of this year, though I will likely take many rabbit trails looking at other facets of generosity along the way, we will look closely at this theme, kindness. As we do, here’s my exhortation after sitting at the feet of Professor Lewis today: Be honest with yourself about kindness.
God is not impressed by rationalizations such as “my heart is in the right place” or that “I wouldn’t hurt a fly” but rather how your heart activates both your thinking and your actions to sacrifice in ways that show God’s generosity and love. That’s kindness.
Father in heaven, help us by your Holy Spirit to grow in kindness in 2019, so that people see your love though our generosity and sacrifice. Make it so I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.