How Does the Bible Encourage Us to Be Kind?
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“Be Kind” is a phrase we currently see on bumper stickers, social media, and even on billboards.
The world has its definition of the word, and even celebrates an annual “kindness day” (November 13), but what does the Bible have to say about kindness?
What Is a Biblical Definition of Kindness?
Christian kindness comes in many forms, with actions displaying Christlike character, such as goodness, mercy, love, grace, pity, compassion, favor, tenderness, gentleness, etc. To be kind means to actively promote the welfare of another as compelled by our love of the Lord and of others (Mark 12:30).
The Geneva College blog definition adds, “So, what does Biblical kindness look like? It looks like Christ.”
Where Does the Bible Mention Kindness?
Kindness and its synonyms – words like kind, grace, goodness, virtue, lovingkindness, and easy – are found throughout Scripture. At times it speaks of God’s kindness to man, and at others the Bible speaks of humanity’s kindness to each other. We’ll reference a few (including the synonyms), thanking God for the wealth of kindness shown in His Word.
As kindness from God
“Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life” (Genesis 19:19 - where Lot thanks the angels sent by the Lord to rescue him from Sodom and Gomorrah).
As kindness from another person
“And he said, ‘May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich’” (Ruth 3:10 – Boaz thanks Ruth for her kindness in choosing his care and comfort over that of younger men).
As steadfast love (lovingkindness) from the Lord
“Wondrously show Your steadfast love,
O Savior of those who seek refuge
from their adversaries at Your right hand” (Psalm 17:7).
As grace
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (Ephesians 2:8 – Oh, the inexpressible joy of God’s kindness in giving us what we don’t deserve).
As goodness
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
forever” (Psalm 23:6 – wherein David recognized and thanked God for His kindness toward him).
As virtue
“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge” (2 Peter 1:5 – Peter expands on the knowledge of God’s kindness in giving us everything we need to live a life of godliness. It’s not works, it’s growing our faith in love and kindness because of God’s kindness to us).
As easy
Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30 - Jesus extends His kindness).
Truly, we can write pages and pages about kindness as the Bible depicts and defines it.
Two passages to further reflect upon as you consider biblical kindness:
“Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits,”
(Psalm 103:1-2).
King David knew full well from Whom all the kindnesses to himself came (see also Psalm 121).
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-7).
What Does Kindness Mean to the World?
For this article, we will use the definition of “world” as seen in Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary, “’The Moral World.’ The moral world includes people indifferent or hostile to God, the God-hostile environment generally, and in the widest sense, corruption and evil summed up under the general term ‘the world.’”
Therefore, we need to ask, “Does an unbeliever even understand what kindness truly is?” With the plethora of “Be kind’ notices seemingly everywhere, one would think people get the meaning of being kind. But without the wholeness of knowing Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and lacking the presence of the Holy Spirit within them, a person in an unregenerate state will never come to a full understanding of kindness as it’s meant to be lived.
An unbeliever understands morality — under which kindness falls — because God has made it plain to them by general (universal) revelation. That is, as Romans 1:19-20 says, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” Part of God’s communicable divine nature is kindness; therefore, man has an innate sense of it and how to display it.
But by no means is an unregenerate heart capable of expressing godly kindness. The world’s view of kindness is mostly reactionary in that when a person is confronted with wicked behavior (anything other than kind), it is compelled by their flesh to react with retribution or with their God-given conscience to react in a manner which deflates the animosity as much as possible. Little do they know to follow one’s God-created conscience is to follow the words of Christ in Luke 6:27-28, “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”
Of course, an unbeliever won’t pray, but they know enough morally to try to diffuse hate with kindness.
Often, however, the world’s acts of kindness are received with a bit of confusion. The unbelieving world expects certain behaviors, e.g., hearing and saying unkind words, and seeing and doing hostile actions against another who — in their perception — wronged them. Kindness in the world is only a bandage which covers a never healed wound.
What Does Kindness Mean to a Christian?
Christian kindness is a manifold disposition toward and actions which display Christlike character (Romans 8:28-29), such as goodness, mercy, love, grace, pity, compassion, favor, tenderness, gentleness, etc. to others. To be kind means to actively promote the welfare of another as compelled for our love of the Lord and of others (Mark 12:30).
A few passages will illustrate the gist of what the Bible says about kindness.
2 Samuel 22:26-27 is actually a Psalm of David repeated in Psalm 18:1-50. This whole passage is David’s song of deliverance from Saul, who long sought David’s life. In this passage, we see a stark contrast between the ways of kindness and wickedness, “With the merciful You show yourself merciful; with the blameless man You show yourself blameless; with the purified You deal purely, and with the crooked You make yourself seem tortuous.” Merciful, blameless, and pure people enjoy God’s mercy, purity, and justification. The wicked man sees God’s kindness to the blameless as torture to himself. Consequences abound for all; good for the good, and to the wicked, plain truths seem confusing and hard to understand (Romans 1:18-23).
Ephesians 4:31-32 gives us another contrast between evil and good behaviors, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
Later in Galatians, just after Paul provided a list of evil behaviors (Galatians 5:19-21), we see kindness recorded as one of the fruit of the Spirit, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23). A Spirit-filled Christian is a good-fruit-bearing Christian. And kindness is a good fruit of the Christian life. Jesus said, “So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:17-20).
How Can We Personify Kindness to Unbelievers?
As we grow more and more like Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18), we reflect Him to the lost and dying world in greater measures. No, we cannot save anyone, but God deigns to work through us as we reflect Him to unbelievers, pray for them, and extend godly kindness to them.
We are part of the “already-not-yet;” we are in the spiritual (and therefore, invisible) kingdom as believers as we wait for Jesus to return and consummate His kingdom in glory. As the church (the Bride of Christ), we are in the world but not of it, yet we should always be kind in the face of the adversity and persecution that comes to all true followers of Jesus. Scripture has given us a good picture of how different worldviews view kindness. For unbelievers, kindness is borne out of an inherent knowledge of good vs. evil yet without the underlying truth of God’s special (particular) revelation of Himself.
Micah 6:8 says, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
In Luke 6:35, Jesus commands us, “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to the ungrateful and evil.”
Matthew 5:45b shows us how God’s kindness extends to everyone, “For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Unbelievers, too, benefit from God’s provision.
His greatest provision, however — the greatest act of kindness — is God’s kindness toward sinners. Romans 5:8 tells us, “but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
It gets even better.
“God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance” (Romans 2:4b). When God draws men to Himself through the Lord Jesus Christ (John 6:44), they come in repentance and faith (Mark 1:15) and surrender to Jesus as Lord. May your fruit of kindness extend to your beloveds who have yet to follow Christ.
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