Be kind. Always | Deeper | Post

I've been in a season of being taught kindness.

This has not always come naturally to me, I must admit.

It was not necessarily an overt form of a lack of kindness that I portrayed, but that did not dismiss the fact that it existed.

And God knows the depth of our hearts, desires and motives so this is one area that He knew had to be dealt with in me in order for me to become made more into His image.

This week, there have been 2 occurrences that have reminded me of just how important it is to ALWAYS act in kindness, and always act as a representation of God's love.

I was not aware of these activities, and neither had I had the wisdom to realise the lesson at the time, so I did badly in the one event, and I did well in the other. I will briefly share what I mean by this:

Not so good reaction:

About a month and a half ago we had challenges with the wifi installation in the house. My 'natural' instinct at the time, which had become a defence mechanism I developed over time as a result of previous encounters, was to "be tough in order to be assisted".

So, I briefly slapped my 'I am mad that you are being inefficient with your services' tone. But if you have ever stayed in a country where there are language barriers, you soon realise that slapping any other tone than a decent tone is counterproductive.

Fast forward to a time I had to go back to the store to enquire. Living in a predominantly non-English speaking country obviously meant there was a high chance I would be assisted by the same person.

This moment allowed me a moment of sober reflection. I was reminded to always, always be kind, regardless of how much the person on the other side might 'appear' to deserve anything other than kindness.

Good reaction:

I had unexpected guests over, which can feel like an inconvenience. So my 'natural' selfish instinct was to feel the urge to 'protect my space'. (I actually don't even understand what that statement means, but this is a reminder of just how many of our thoughts are irrational and ultimately incorrect).

The 'protective' thoughts occurred to me, but I talked against them and told myself to relax and that everything would be fine. Throughout the duration of our time together, I acted from a place of love (I can't exactly fully take the credit for this because the environment made love effortless).

As the guests were leaving, they showed so much appreciation and we all had our little moment. Reflecting on this was such a reminder to me of the importance to always, always be kind.

We never know what journey another person is on.

I was reminded that I am continuously representing the Kingdom. And that even if people never get to hear of God's love for them, they need to at least experience a glimpse of it through me.

I appreciate these moments.