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All Saints Church |
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Thorpe Acre Road, Loughborough, |
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Paul Chung Fruits - Kindness
Today we continue with our series on the Fruit of the Spirit. The topic
is “kindness”. Although we are considering kindness as a topic by itself, I
would like to remind ourselves that the Fruit of the Spirit is singular.
There is one fruit, not many fruits. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control. It is all these different qualities held together that make up
our character. Kindness – what is it? I looked up my dictionary and this is what it
says: kindness – the quality of being kind. That is not a lot of help. So I
looked up the word kind. The definition is: helpful, interested in the
happiness or feelings of others. I think we would recognise kindness if we
experience or see examples of it. There was a
lady who lived in a small town and she had always used the same Post Office
because the person who worked at the counter was particularly friendly. Just
before Christmas one year she went there to buy stamps and the line was long.
Someone pointed out to her that if all that she needed were stamps then there
was no need to wait in line because there was a stamp machine in the lobby.
"I know," she said, “but the machine won't ask me about my
arthritis." Kindness is showing an interest in another person. (Bits and Pieces, December, 1989, p.
2.) In the
two-man bobsled event at the 1964 Olympics, the Italian Eugenio Monti and his
teammate were the leaders after their final run. Then the GB team Tony Nash
and his teammate Robin Dixon got ready for their run, they discovered that a
critical bolt on their sled had snapped at the last moment. When Monti, the
Italian, was informed of their problem instead of hoping that Nash and At work because of one of my roles I have a
reserved parking space in one the busiest parts of the University campus.
Just after one lunch time several weeks ago I drove up to my parking space
and found that it had been taken by another car and the car park was full. I
was furious, how could someone infringe my privilege. I took out a piece of
paper and scribbled on it “This is a reserved space. Do not park!!” and
secured it under the car’s screen wiper. Several of my colleagues walked by.
One said, “Block the car in, teach them a lesson.” Another said, “Call
security, tow the car away.” I could
not let my mind entertain such thoughts. I drove my car away and found a
parking space somewhere else then went to my meeting. After the meeting I
walked back to my car parking space to see if the car had gone. It was still
there. By this time, I wasn’t angry or frustrated anymore. I took out another
piece of paper wanting to write a friendlier note. As I was writing a lady
walked up to the car and asked apologetically whether the space was mine. I
said, “Yes.” She kept on apologizing. I could tell that she genuinely felt
bad about it. I said to her, “Don’t worry, it is ok with me.” Without wanting
to make her feel worse I took the note from underneath the screen wiper
before she had a chance to read it. This is a trivial example but it
illustrates that kindness is not insisting on one’s rights. Of course, there is a balance between kindness and upholding what is
right. We will come back to that later. So,
kindness is to show an interest in another person. Kindness is to help
another person to the extent that it may cost one dearly. Kindness is
expressed in forgiving as well as giving. Ephesians
2:6-8 God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly
realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the
incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ
Jesus. The Lord Jesus is never described as kind in the Gospel but he is
the perfect expression of kindness. He has an interest in all mankind. He is
not wrapped up in his own self-interest. In order to help us he paid the
costly price of his own life. He offers forgiveness to all who would repent
and accept it. God is kind. The Lord Jesus is kind. Kindness does not exist just in thoughts and feelings. Kindness has
to be expressed in words and in actions. Kind acts are not done just to make
ourselves feel better or to inflate our own ego. In Matthew 6:2 Jesus said,
“when you give to the needy,
do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and
on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have
received their reward in full.” Genuine kindness focuses on the benefits of
the receiver not the giver. In our everyday life we have many opportunities to say kind words
and do kind deeds. We need to look out for them. Say words that encourages
rather than say words that hurts. ·
Proverbs 12:18 Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings
healing. ·
Proverbs 12:25 An anxious heart weighs a man
down, but a kind word cheers
him up. ·
Proverbs 16:24 Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the
bones. ·
Proverbs 25:11 A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver. There are many kind acts that we can do, like giving up a seat on
the bus, holding a door open for someone.
However, there are specific things that we can do because of who and
what we are. Express your kindness in action by helping those who are within
your power to help. Proverbs 3:27-28 “Do not withhold good from those who
deserve it, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor,
"Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow"—when you now have it with
you.” The help we
can give obviously different and is depend on our situations. At work one of
the frequent complaints that research students bring to me about their
supervisors is that they have to wait a long time before they receive any
feedback on their draft papers or drat theses. It is easy to consider only
ones interest and neglect those who are under ones care. Care for those who
work for you and care for those who work with you. “Do not withhold good from
those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.” Show kindness to
people whom we are in contact with the Bible encourages us. To be kind does not mean that people can take advantage of you. To
be kind does not mean that people can break all the rules and expect you to
forget about it. As I mentioned earlier in the beginning of the sermon, kindness is only
one quality that makes up your character. Kindness has to be balanced with other
qualities. In Romans God is described as both kind and stern. “Consider therefore
the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness
to you, provided that you continue in his kindness.” Romans 11:22 and in
Romans 2:4-5 “Do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance
and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?
But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing
up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous
judgment will be revealed.” God’s kindness
and other people’s kindness are not to be taken for granted or abused. How
often do we not even acknowledge another person’s help? I was queuing to get
on a train from The heart of the problem is that the modern culture encourages getting,
receiving much more than giving. The Bible is completely opposite. Give and you will receive. This is a
spiritual law that never fails. Just like the physical law of gravity - what
goes up must come down. Jesus says in Luke 6:38, “Give, and it
will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and
running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it
will be measured to you.” God sees the kind and generous acts that we do in
secret. He will reward us without fail because he is a kind and generous God.
He delights in us being kind and generous. Be kind. Your kindness may bring a smile to someone’s face; your kindness
may cheer someone’s downcast heart; your kindness may relief someone of their
anxiety; your kindness may help someone to carry on and succeed. Most
importantly your kindness may bring someone into the The acts of kindness may be spontaneous or may be planned. Each of us
should be actively looking at ways of being kind. There is a
very interesting story recorded for us in 2 Samuel Chapter 9. As you know
Jonathan was David’s good friend. When Saul and his son Jonathan died, King
David asked, "Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I
can show kindness for Jonathan's
sake?" Yes, there was - Mephilbosheth, son of Jonathan. King David asked
his people to find him and bring him to himself. When David saw
Mephilbosheth, he said, “Don’t be afraid, for I will surely show you kindness
for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that
belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.” For the sake of his friend Jonathan he deliberately sought out
Jonathan’s son to care for him for the rest of his life. Would you do that to
show kindness in a planned, deliberate and committed way? Would you do that
for the sake of our Lord Jesus, who died for you? Would you do that to show
that you love and him and you are grateful to him? Once upon a time
there was an old doctor in a village in We worship God with beautiful songs, with beautiful words. But secretly
what are offering up – the minimal so that the others can provide the cover
up? In thankfulness make a commitment to give something back to God. Care for
those He cares about – people in need, people in poverty, people who need
salvation. It is great that we have the Fairtrade stall, the Christmas shoe box
and the Christian Aid initiatives. They are truly kindness in action. I am
pleased that we support them. In the beginning I said that kindness is to show an interest in another
person. Kindness is to help another person to the extent that it may cost one
dearly. Kindness is expressed in forgiving as well as giving. Would you seek
out and take interest in an individual or a group of people whom you can
help? Would you commit resources in helping the individual or the group?
Would you seek to bring equality and forgiveness in the world? We have the
most wonderful gift we can give, which is the Gospel. May God help us to be
kind. Amen. |
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