Thank you for listening once again to Cultivating Growth, where each and every week, John and I will pick a topic. We'll talk about ways that we can grow in that various, in that various topic, specifically grow in our relationship with God and oftentimes even our relationship with each other. And certainly that's going to be our focus today as we talk about cultivating our growth in regards to kindness.

Certainly, that comes into play with our attitude towards God, but also our attitude towards each other. So I'm looking forward to this conversation. Let's get right to it. 

Jeremy, I think when we consider the idea of being kind to one another, it's not difficult to, uh, convince ourselves that that's important. We all understand the need to be kind and the benefits of being kind to one another.  However, when we look in scripture, I think it's pretty obvious that it is not necessarily something that's just going to come naturally to us or be easy.

But it's something that we have to give serious attention to, because being kind is not just a, yeah, that's good for society if we're all kind to one another, but this is something that's important to God. And an expectation that he has of us. And I think it's, it's worth spending some time considering how we can grow in this area.

Even if you are a quote unquote, nice person, I think there are still ways that all of us can grow in our kindness toward one another. Yeah. I mean, you know, it's interesting if you think about, you know, Jesus and he, when he lived in this earth and certainly his kindness just radiated, you know, to everyone around him.

And. You know, he was equally kind, you know, it seemed to, you know, to each and every person that he came in contact with. But it is interesting that, you know, when Jesus was asked, you know, from one of the Pharisees about, you know, what is the greatest law, and that's probably, you know, one conversation that the Pharisees would often have.

They were, uh, keepers of the law. They were strict when it came to the law. And, you know, he probably had in his mind, you know, one of the six hundred. ish laws in the law, in the, in the old Testament. And Jesus answers his question and his answer is very simple. And he brings up the importance of loving God, loving God with everything that we have.

But then he also brings up loving your neighbor as yourself. And he says, you know, on just these two hang everything. And so, you know, it makes sense that yes, certainly we need to love God and that that's going to be important to God. But yet also he, he, he adds to that and says, our, The way that we treat the people around us, that's also important to God.

And so you don't just see it there, you then see it throughout the New Testament. And not just words like kind, I mean kindness and kind come up in Scripture, but even synonyms to what kindness is, is also important. All over the pages of the New Testament. Yeah, you know, we were talking at the beginning, and I think probably one of the most well known places where that shows up is in Galatians chapter 5 and the fruit of the Spirit that we see listed there.

In verse 22 it says, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control.  And I think sometimes there, there are some misunderstandings that, uh, exist around the fruit of the spirit.  Sometimes we tend to look at that list and think, well, these are the things that I need to be.

In order to be in a relationship with God. But the reality is what this list is, is who we are because of our relationship with God. And so when we walk in the spirit, these are the things that we become. And therefore these are the things that come out.  And so, as I grow closer to God, one of the things that will increase within me is kindness.

And that shouldn't be a surprise when we consider Jesus and think about how kind He was. He was so giving of Himself, His time, His attention, everything about who He was. He emanated love and kindness toward other people, and so it shouldn't be a surprise that that's what happens to me the closer I grow to him, and what should ultimately be the goal is that kindness becomes something not just that I do, it becomes who I am. 

Yeah, and it is. It should be at the center of each and every one of our relationships. I mean, all of our relationships should be, you know, hinged on this kind of attitude. And so, you know, you shouldn't be surprised. I mean, there are lots of places in the New Testament that, you know, where the text talks about various relationships.

One of them comes to mind in 1 Peter 2 and 1 Peter 3. You know, Peter is talking about lots of different relationships. The relationships that we have with the government, relationships that we have in business, services. and chapter three relationships that we have in marriage. He's talking about all of these relationships, and he gets to kind of the end of that discussion.

And he says in verse eight, this is kind of, you know, when I was making mention before, if the word kind isn't there, you got synonyms for what kindness is all over the place. And this is a good example of that. At the end of this big contact. of what our relationships are to be kind of hinged upon. He says in 1 Peter 3, verse 8, Finally,  all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another, love as brothers, be tender hearted, be courteous.

And that's the word that's used in the New King James. And you think about those things. Compassion, love. Love, tenderhearted, courteous, all of those things are about kindness. And Peter's putting it at the end of his discussion of all of these different relationships. And he says, finally, when it comes to all of these relationships, you keep these things in mind.

And that's God trying to get us to understand that it is, it is an absolute when it comes to any relationship that we have. Yeah. And you know, it's, it's so easy in this life. To take the approach that I will be kind if others are kind to me, or I'll be kind as long as everyone is being nice to one another.

But, if someone else is being rude, or someone else is being mean, or someone else's being contrary, then well, I'm going to have to take on some of those same character traits in order to stand up for myself or in order to get what I need done or whatever it may be. And I think to your point, and what we've been talking about is if, if we are kindness, In everything that we are because of our relationship with Christ and our striving to be more like him, then someone else's attitude doesn't impact whether or not I'm going to be kind, and that has to be the way that we live our lives.

Our kindness, we talk about this with, with things like joy, our circumstances can't determine our joy. Or our circumstances can't determine our kindness either. We have a responsibility to be kind regardless of how others around us may be acting. Yeah, I mean, that's an incredible point. And just as you're making that point, it reminded me, you know, of Jesus in Matthew chapter 5.

I mean, in the Sermon on the Mount, you know, in verse 44. Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. Those sound like kind things. And Jesus is saying, here, even these people who are adversarial against you, you be kind in this arena.

And that is easier said than done in a lot of ways. It is. But I think Jesus gives us a great illustration of these things.  He was not someone who didn't stand up for what he believed in, he most certainly did. And even with strong language at times, and was willing to, when necessary, be confrontational, if that's what it took to stand up for the truth.

And so this idea of kindness doesn't mean that we become a doormat for society, or that we don't have strong beliefs about anything, and we just let anything go. So that we can keep the peace. That's not what being kind is. Being kind is being considerate of the person across from you. Um, recognizing that they too have something that you need to listen to and perhaps understand better.

There's a relationship that needs to be preserved whenever possible. And it's, it's thinking about the other person, and it kind of goes back, last week we were talking about humility, and I think these two things kind of go hand in hand. If I am humble,  then kindness becomes easier for me, because I'm not always focused on myself and getting my way and making sure others see things the way that I do.

I'm now being more considerate of others around me, and when I'm doing that, kindness is much easier for me to convey. Yeah. You know, when I start to think about, you know, ways that I can grow, you know, in, in kindness, you know, one thing that, uh, we often, A verse that we would use with our kids all the time is Ephesians 4, 32.

Kindness is there. Be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another. Now we would often use that with our kids. When one of them would do something to the other and they, that one would get upset, we would make them recite this verse, right? We've got to be kind. We've got to be tender. We've got to be forgiving, but really the end of that verse for us as adults helps us to understand.

in a way that I can grow in my kindness, because as we have a demand placed upon us there at the beginning of that verse, be kind to one another, be tender hearted, forgive one another. But the end of that verse, just as God in Christ also forgave you. And so, you know, one way that I think that we can increase and grow in our kindness is It is to meditate upon that, to meditate upon God, specifically upon Jesus and his, his attitude towards other people, his, the way he handled difficult circumstances, the way that he handled people who were You know, troublesome to him.

And when we think about how Jesus was able to do it, how Jesus deals with me, you know, at times. And so when we can do that, I think that's one way that we can grow, uh, you know, in our own kindness for sure. Well, I think you're absolutely right. And the more we think about the kindness that's been shown to us, the easier showing kindness to others.

will become. In fact, as we kind of wrap things up today, let's end with a passage of scripture that I think points to that very idea in Colossians chapter three, verses 12 and 13. And there's two things in particular about this passage that I want you to consider, uh, as I read it and close this for today.

Uh, the, the wording that's used here by Paul in Colossians chapter three in verse 12. He's going to ask us to put these things on. And then in verse 13, he's going to point to Christ and the forgiveness that's found in him as the reason that we do these things. And so I think those are important things to keep in mind as we consider our responsibility in the area of kindness.

So Colossians chapter three, beginning in verse 12, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved put on tender mercies. Kindness, humility, meekness, long suffering, bearing with one another, and forgiving one another. If anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 

Thank you for listening this week. If you haven't already done so, we'd appreciate it if podcast, whatever platform you're listening, rate and review the show so we can continue to spread the good news of Jesus widely. And effectively as possible. Thanks again for joining us this week, and we'll talk again next week.