Galatians 5:22 informs us that one of the Fruit of the Spirit is kindness. These days, it seems like there is this need to be “savage” that most people have forgotten the necessity of kindness. Do not feel so pressed to be savage that you forget to extend the kindness God has graciously shown you, to others. A true Christian ought to show kindness because our Heavenly Father is kind. We should be like Him. He showed us kindness by extending His mercies to an undeserving people like us.

When we show kindness, we are sowing a seed. I do not say this because I want you going round helping people only so they can help you too. What I am saying is when we show kindness to a person, we have sown a seed in that person. The seed could vary from person to person, from situation to situation. A certain Mr. A may have been helped by you and then from that moment on, he also purposes to pay back that kindness to the society by helping as many that he can. Or you could have extended kindness towards Ms. Y and forgotten about her entire existence but happen to meet up with her when you are need of help and then she’s in position to help you. Under normal circumstances, she would not refrain from doing so.

The bible backs up the fact that kindness is an investment in Proverbs 11:7 where It says “a man who is kind benefits himself but a cruel man hurts himself”. Where is the lie? People are quick to help a person who is kind than a person who is known for being cruel. When I say kindness is an investment, I mean it is a deed that always brings in returns. It either helps boost your character, your network of people which is important, your credits in front of people; as in, people are quick to describe you positively and the list goes on. No one benefits from being cruel or mean.

If we claim to be God’s elects by our faith in Jesus Christ, it is essential that we show kindness because it reflects who Jesus is. Alongside it being a fruit of the Spirit, we are admonished in Colossians 3:12 to put on compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness and patience as God’s chosen and beloved ones. If you belong to a particular organization, one should be able to see you reflect that organization you belong to, in your lifestyle. If you are a member of a family, even if you are adopted, you tend to show some similar traits and behaviors as your other family members. So also, if we belong to the family of Christ, we must exhibit the traits of our Father and older Brother, Jesus.

However, in your course through life, you will meet people who have no regard for kindness extended to them. They will literally bite the hand that’s feeding them or put away a hand extended towards them when they fall. Some people would pretend to have never met you when you need their help even after you were kind to them when they needed it. But this should not stop you. We are different from the people of the world. We are like God, who extends his merciful kindness to us daily even when we disregard it time and again (Romans 11:22). Despite their disregard for your kindness, keep being kind. We are not showing kindness that we may receive it from them anyway. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He showed us kindness even when we were very much undeserving of it. He did not judge us by our sins or the sins of your fathers.

Therefore, don’t let anyone sell to you, cruelty or meanness as a form being “woke”. Give that thirsty man water. Help that little girl without taking advantage of her. Get that man that job without leeching off his salary (except you’re an agent lol). Assist that woman without expecting anything in return. An expectant “kindness” is not actual kindness. It is just a sugarcoated business deal. Remember Jesus Christ was kind to you by paying the penalty for your sins even when you paid no regard to Him, He did it knowing fully well that you would never be able to pay Him back. That is the type of kindness that should be found among us as members of the family of Christ.

Be kind to someone today!