Love Is Kind

There's lots of deficits in this ole world -- rain, food, gold, only to mention a few. One of biggest shortages I can think of is kindness. Even to the most kind of us, we run low on it sometimes. When was the last time you stopped to pick up something someone dropped, allowed someone to go in front of you in the checkout line, or held the door open for another person? Little and random acts of kindness go a long, long way with others. Actually, they tend to go a long way with us, too!

First Corinthians 1:4 puts it very plain " ... love is kind." I double-checked and there's no parentheses indicating be kind only to your friends, to those who are kind to you, to smart people, or even if you feel like it. No, according to God's Word, kindness crosses time, culture, race, and personalities. It may not be convenient or our first choice, but kindness is a Godly response to the unlovely, unkind, foolish, and mean-spirited. Mary Whelchel writes, "Kind means smiling at others; it means not saying the sarcastic words that come into your mind; it means putting up with interruptions and not showing your annoyance about it, to mention a few." Being kind sounds so easy, but we know it is not. What a challenge for today, as well as a great use of the time God has gifted us.