The Fruit of the Holy Spirit – What is kindness?

The Fruit of the Holy Spirit – What is kindness?

KINDNESS IS A GROWTH PROCESS

You just don’t get up in the morning and say, “Beginning today, I’m going to be kind.” Even the best intentions fail if we rely on our own strength. Paul called kindness a fruit of the Spirit because it cannot be grown effectively without the Spirit’s continuing work in our lives.

Ephesians 5:18 admonishes us to  be filled with the Spirit. The wider context shows that spiritual fullness results in changed behavior. Submit to one another  Husbands, love your wives, Children, obey your parents Fathers, do not exasperate your children, Slaves, obey your earthly masters  Kindness is one of the products of the Spirit at work in our relationships

The Bible, however, tells us about a successful heart transplant: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezekiel 36:26).*

Like the mean man, we fallen human beings have a predisposition to be unkind! Unfortunately, even our salvation experience does not remove us from that temptation. Christians can be very cruel . And probably, without intending to be, all of us are cruel at times. The Word of God teaches us, however, that to please God we must cultivate the virtue of kindness.

Ephesians 4:31,32 says to “get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.