BEING A KIND PERSON
TUESDAY 23 NOVEMBER 2021
Christians are kind people but not all kind people are Christians. However, we get what we put into others. So a kind person shows mercy and gets mercy. That's how it works. It's also selfless to be kind and by this, I don't mean giving or helping just so others will praise us, or to be dramatic about it, rather I mean that every kindness, void of selfish motives, and from the depth of one's heart, is priceless.

Reference: Proverbs 11:17 New International Version (NIV) "Those who are kind benefit themselves, but the cruel bring ruin on themselves."
Kind people don't have to feel motivated or inspired before they can take action toward being a blessing to others, as they genuinely desire to achieve. Their mental space is easily occupied with configured benignity and goodwill. People with kind personality always want to improve their benevolent level, because they don't want to keep away from the next good idea that reflects "helping or favouring others". However, they can always control how they choose to act and respond to the needy at any given moment.
On one occasion, an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. In the process, Jesus mentioned about a man who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers that stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest who happened to be going down the same road, saw the man, avoided him and passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.
As a kind man, he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise" (see Luke 10:30-37 NIV).
In this parable Jesus described a neighbour as the one that showed kindness to the man who fell into the hands of robbers. Truth is, if its not inherent in a person, they can't act it. Also you're not always going to be motivated to do good. So if you're waiting for a muse to inspire or propel you to kindness, time is going to wither away and no angel will descend from heaven to motivate you. But you can practise it by walking in the Spirit and following His guiding intelligence bumper to bumper.
Sometimes, when you're about to take the action of kindness which is of interest to you, you can be faced with a couple of resistance. That's because you're about to do something that is quite significant. For instance, Jesus healed a man with a shriveled hand on the Sabbath. But before it happened, some of the Pharisees were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone." Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But the Pharisees remained silent.
Jesus looked around at them in anger, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. But the furious Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians against Jesus (see Mark 3:1-6 NIV). As the kind-hearted, when faced with the notion of an unpleasant situation, and you want to offer help to someone in need, regardless of resistance, the system of kindness inherent in you will often win by stirring you to act your way into generous helping. Shalom!
Scripture Reading - Proverbs 14:21; Ephesians 4:32; Galatians 5:13; Luke 6:31; Galatians 6:9-10.
Guided Prayer: Dear Father, thank you for creating and inducing the emotions of motivation, inspiration, and anticipation that enable and empower me to display the acts of kindness and to crave for more. From time to time, my noble thoughts trigger emotional and practical response in form of generosity and charity, thereby offering the needy temporary and permanent relief from discomfort. I'm forever grateful for teaching me the acts of kindness as a reliable recipe for good success, and for making it a habit to act on them even before I feel like it, in Jesus' Name, Amen!

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