In a world that often screams stress, anxiety, depression, and anger at us, kindness becomes a beacon of hope for humanity. Kindness is more than just being nice. It’s serving. It’s serving beyond just being polite. It’s an inner demeanor which the Holy Spirit provides that reflects what’s in our heart.

Do you struggle with being kind? We all have our days, don’t we? Sometimes we just feel too busy or overwhelmed to bother ourselves with kindness. It’s in those very moments that we need to seek wisdom from God…

Luke 6:35 (totally paraphrased)
Love your enemies. Do good. Expect nothing in return.

Why? Because the God of the universe has offered the same to us!!

“He does not treat us as our sins deserve 
or repay us according to our iniquities.”
Psalm 103:10

“Be kind and compassionate to one another,
forgiving each other,
just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:32

Oh, I get it. It’s hard to be kind when all around you others are seemingly ungrateful, often self-seeking, and even rude at times. That doesn’t mean we need to be part of the problem when the solution is so simple.

Be kind anyways.

Dear Sisters, I challenge you to take an intent look around your circumstance. At the people you work with, the people you live with, the people you do life around. Maybe it’s co-workers or a boss, a room mate, a spouse, your kids, and yes, even the strangers who pass you by on a daily basis! Guess what?! You have the power to make the world you live in be just a little bit better of a place! Your demeanor sets the tone for your environment. So don’t wait for someone to deserve your kindness but rather let the Holy Spirit help guide you to produce true kindness towards those around you.

People treasure kindness.

Think about the Pay It Forward movement, or when buying Coffee for the person behind you at the coffee shop that leads to a whole line buying for the next person in line. Can you remember a time that someone offered you a random act of kindness? I’m not even talking about the bigger things that I can personally think of like when someone paid our water bill when we were threatened with it getting shut off during a rough season in life, or the church paying our mortgage for a month while we got back on our feet, or the random stranger who paid for fairly nice dinner for my big family at a restaurant on Christmas Eve during a particularly emotional year. Those things are amazing and made a huge impression on me and those around me; however, it’s the small things that can also have a big impact as well. Patience at the check out, letting someone merge into your lane, a friendly smile, holding the door open for someone, returning a cart to the cart return for that busy mom of littles, helping load up groceries for an elderly person, offering water to that homeless person…

In a society that needs more hope, how are you going to choose to be more intentional to offer kindness? We can make a difference. So go ahead, take that extra mile, bless others, and make the world a better place.