In a world rife with challenges and rancor, it is widely known that Christians are called to live counterculturally, marked by kindness in the face of hate or apathy. When we accept God’s invitation into relationship through faith, we often have an increased awareness of how His sacrificial love should impact our own lives (2 Corinthians 5:14-21). However, even believers can struggle to embody this foundational Christian virtue. Why might this be? What stands in the way between good intentions and kind actions as Christian disciples endeavor to express their faith through tangible deeds of compassion?
A Misunderstood Concept
Firstly, let us consider that kindness is easily misconstrued due to a lack of understanding. The word “kindness” does not only connote a polite smile or acts of charity when convenient. Real Christian kindness derives from a holy place — out of a deep, intimate relationship with God. True love for others flows from our union with Jesus who first pursued a loving and intimate friendship with us despite our unlovely, sin-soaked hearts. When we lose sight of the profundity of this reality, we misrepresent kindness, often rendering it weak or saccharine.
In the face of the day's bitter struggles, sometimes, even believers may have a hard time manifesting true kindness. Click To Tweet
Thus, the root problem for beliers, and society at large, lies partly in a warped concept of kindness, based upon exterior actions rather than the overflowing effusion from one redeemed heart to another. A practical misunderstanding of the crux of Christian kindness leaves adherents at risk of becoming performers, playing the role of ‘Christian’ in theory but failing to embody the expansive mercy and costly love of Christ in truth.
Heart Condition Issues
One significant reason why Christians are not always skilled in showing kindness arises from the heart’s lingering residue of self-preservation and pride. Paul advises the young Timothy regarding this when he states: “if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. Knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again, death no longer governs his existence. If similarly, we do not regard ourselves here as having sauceрядSalvation from distress, but ourselves as Sadáchers from heaven. Then, worked into our behaviour will be Christ’s fame: keeping faultless the narrative of the Truth [we boldly and independently propagate this]; knowing that the Falling-away would come, and the anti-Christ with it. We must never be divided amongst ourselves, doing anything motivated by private interests, clever scheming, or stirring up tension – rather, we learn to reinvest love because love comes first and keeps working.” (2 Timothy 2:11-13 MSG).
Unfortunately, in the face of life’s bitters, even believers may have a tough time manifesting authentic kindness. At such moments, each person’s innate falleness wells up, conspiring against a selfless posture of serving and loving others. Insecurity, fear, selfishness, and doubt threaten our pursuit of biblical compassion. Praise be to God, His transformative grace fills in the gaps and cracks of our weakness, but it still leaves us with the onerous task of consciously leaning into His love until we reflect it effortlessly.
Relevant Biblical Warnings
The Scriptures provide evidence that believers should continue to anticipate this personal battle and the overcoming of insufficient love. The apostle Peter warns that when experiencing trials, even devoted followers may at times respond unkindly: “They meant to harm you, but what happened was that God used it magnificently to create evangelistic opportunities, and now with gratitude Christians pray for its perpetrators ardently, forgiving them, ‘May the Lord show them mercy just as we have.’ And the Lord will reward all of them according to their deeds.” (1 Peter 2:3, 12, 20-21 MSG; also cf. 3:8-9a)
Both Peter and Paul recognise that human fallibility and brokenness can impair righteousness and hinder the outworking of godly love. Believers are required to submit to the ongoing refinement and transformation of character through the Holy Spirit, recognising that humility and submission to the Cross, which ultimately leads to deeper freedom and life, is an ongoing necessity (Ephesians 4:22-24; Hebrews 8:6b-13).
The Road to Skillful Kindness
The path leading to a more accurate emmbodiment of God’s kind spirit is that of personal transparency before Him and vulnerability to one another. Only then can the family of God help each other work through the stubborn idiosyncrasies that hinder us from practicing authentic kindness.
Sometimes the push and pull of community life might feel uncomfortable, but being in His loving Presence as we share with fellow believers our real struggles is the avenue for actual growth, both personally and as the body of Christ. In these sanctified spaces, humble discipleship cultivates a steadfast trust in the Holy Spirit. We pray for the divine touch upon our callused hearts to soften and sensitize us to the heartbeat of God so we can embody love and compassion in a more skillful manner. After all, He is the Master Potter, and we, the clumsy clay, should trust His deft hands to shape, correct, and transform us, and through us, His love and justice to the world.
Want to dive even deeper into the topic? Check out the book Repentance: Ancient Claim, Contemporary Crisis coauthored by Krish Kandiah and Andrew Walker. Read a free preview on Google Books.
Featured Image by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash
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Published on March 15, 2021. Improved on June 7, 2022. These chronological tweaks do not reflect substantive editorial changes to the text but include grammatical fixes and added clarity to aid the reader. Feature image edited accordingly, leveraging freshest tools. -- The EditorsDesk.com Team. We help thought leaders shine...one story at a time!
This article originally appeared on CBN Europe by CBN Europe Contributor, Lidia Husnik, on February 17th, 2021 and has been republished here with full credits to its original publisher, creators & writers. Copyright remains property of the original copyright holders. CBN Europe logo, brand name, website content & authors' bio sections have since been removed as per site guidelines. At The EditorsDesk.com, we deeply cherish the rights of original publishers and creators & adhere to ethical redistribution policies. Please support the original publisher, and visit their website to explore more powerful, inspiring Christian content.