Anxiety is Full of Lies

The following is a devotional from David Powlison in the book, Heart of the Matter. Read Psalm 26 first.

Park your mind on what is true (Philippians 4:8). Anxiety is full of lies. What are some of them? First, you believe the world needs to be under your control. Second, you think it is out of control. And third, you imagine that your worry will get it under control. But the truth is that this is God's world. He controls it, and your worry will not change a thing. So when you are tempted to worry, reject the lie that it is up to keep yourself and those you love safe. Especially, reject all lies that contain the word more. For example, "I would be safe if I had more friends, more money, more time, and more respect." Also reject all the lies containing the word different: "I would be safe if I had a different spouse, different family, different job, different house, and different church." These statements are all fundamentally false. Ask God to help you anchor your mind on what is true, and then you will be able to tackle your real problems in the right way.

The Bond Among Employees

My son started his new job today - his first job out of college! The workplace is not only a place to make money to support yourself and your family, but it can be a place to form great friendships and lasting memories.

The other day I was going through some old papers and found some memos I wrote when I was an HR supervisor for Samsung. One memo to the employees recounted the closing of the TV plant and the opening of the service division. Reading it made me think of the friends I made there and the good times we had together. It's even more interesting when you consider that I left Samsung 27 years ago! Of course, no place is perfect and my memory probably is biased to the good times, but I don't think my memory is that bad.

Enjoy the people you work with and love them as in "love your neighbor as yourself." We spend 8 - 10 hours a day with our fellow employees. Try to enjoy these times of your life.

Here's an excerpt from the memo to give you a little insight into my time there.

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April 1, 1992 Poor Mike's Almanac (An SEA - Ledgewood Publication)

After over seven years of operation, Samsung International, Inc., announced on October 11, 1991 that it was closing down operations. Most layoffs occurred on November 27, the lines were disassembled during December, and on February 29, no more employees were left on SII's payroll. Although I did not know the SII employees for very long, I felt close to them and seeing them leave was a very sad occasion. I have some real good memories though. One incident in particular brings a smile to my face whenever I think about it. Production targets had been set for SII and up until two days before the shutdown everything was going well. However, a truck carrying our final shipment of CRTs [cathode ray tubes] got stuck in a snowstorm, and would not arrive until late Tuesday. It looked like SII would not meet it's final production goals. However, after some discussion, SII employees agreed to go home early and return later that evening after the truck had arrived to finish the final sets. At 6:30pm the truck arrived, the line was fired up, and everyone got to work. Joanne Forgey and I tried to make coffee for everyone, but after failing miserably at that task, [the line supervisor] suggested I pick up a screw gun and help out on the line. I did, and although we were two days from closing, people were laughing and having a good time. By 8:30pm, SII was back on the production schedule.

"Two days from closing" was two days before Thanksgiving. Given the situation, it would be expected that employees would be angry and bitter, but for the most part, everyone chipped in and helped until the last day. Good people.

I'll never forget my time at Samsung and the friends I made. There are friends for you to make as well!

New Beginnings

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind." -- C.S. Lewis

Psalm 42:5

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation.

A Story of Redemption - Part 4

Is there any reason that God should have forgiven Manasseh in all of his wickedness? No...but yet he does. And he doesn't just forgive him, he blesses him in amazing ways:

2 Chronicles 33:13-17

And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.

Afterward he rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David, west of the Gihon spring in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate and encircling the hill of Ophel; he also made it much higher. He stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities in Judah.

He got rid of the foreign gods and removed the image from the temple of the Lord, as well as all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city. Then he restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings on it, and told Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. The people, however, continued to sacrifice at the high places, but only to the Lord their God.

"The Lord was moved by his entreaty." Moved? By this wicked man who figuratively spat on God? Yes. He change Manasseh's heart and restored him to his kingdom.

Read this story again. Can there be anyone...anyone...beyond the love and redemption of God? No. If this man - King Manasseh - can be redeemed, anyone can. Do not think that you are beyond the reach of God's forgiveness. What a wonderful story of God's grace and love.

A Story of Redemption - Part 3

The Lord finally sends a message to Manasseh condemning his wicked behavior. There are references both in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles.

2 Kings 21: 10-15

The Lord said through his servants the prophets: “Manasseh king of Judah has committed these detestable sins. He has done more evil than the Amorites who preceded him and has led Judah into sin with his idols. Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and the plumb line used against the house of Ahab. I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. I will forsake the remnant of my inheritance and give them into the hands of enemies. They will be looted and plundered by all their enemies; they have done evil in my eyes and have aroused my anger from the day their ancestors came out of Egypt until this day.”

2 Chronicles 33: 10-11

The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. So the Lord brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon.

With this condemnation and punishment, one might think that God was finished with Manasseh and had turned away from him forever. If anyone deserved to be banished from God's presence and condemned to live the consequences of his sins, it would be Manasseh. If someone sinned against me like this (or even a fraction of this), I would leave him to his sins. But unlike me, our God is infinitely merciful. We'll see what God does with Manasseh in the next post.

A Story of Redemption - Part 2

Continuing from yesterday, we read how King Manasseh of Judah continued to do evil in the eyes of the Lord. In the following passages, we see that he participated in child sacrifice (his own son), consulted with mediums and spiritists in direct violation of God's law, and sought spiritual guidance from things other than God. Remember, this is the King of Judah. He also placed a pagan item of worship into the house of the Lord:

He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced divination, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.

He took the carved Asherah pole he had made and put it in the temple, of which the Lord had said to David and to his son Solomon, “In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name forever. I will not again make the feet of the Israelites wander from the land I gave their ancestors, if only they will be careful to do everything I commanded them and will keep the whole Law that my servant Moses gave them.” But the people did not listen. Manasseh led them astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites.

In addition to his own wicked behavior, Manasseh led his people away from God and they did more evil than the pagans who had lived in the land before the Israelites settled there.

A Story of Redemption - Part 1

A couple of weeks ago, our pastor gave a sermon on King Manasseh from 2 Kings 21. It was a powerful sermon because it showed me that no one - absolutely no one - is beyond God's redemption. Over the next few posts, I'll quote from the Scriptures and show you first the absolute wickedness of Manasseh and then - despite his evil - how God reaches down and redeems him. It's an incredible story.

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In the first few passages, the Scriptures reveal that King Manasseh: (1) brought back the pagan practices of the Canaanites who existed in the land before the Hebrews arrived; (2) worshipped pagan Gods and built statues and altars for them; and (3) not only did he build altars in Israel, but he built them inside God's temple:

Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem will I put my name.” And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord.

More about Manasseh's disrespect and utter disdain for the Lord tomorrow.

The Heart of the Gospel

The Son of Man was crushed instead of us; Jesus himself drank the cup of God's wrath in our place. God's anger and righteousness are truly holy. Yet in the gospel we also find unprecedented mercy, love, and mercy. The penalty our sins deserve is redirected so that all we receive is grace. - Edward T. Welch

Friends

I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let's face it, friends make life a lot more fun. - Charles R. Swindoll

What is Christian Kindness? Part 6

This is the last post on John Piper's essay on Christian kindness. Some of the posts in this series were a little longer than my usual posts, but I didn't want to break them down any further; I thought they held together nicely as written. I hope the posts I've shared will help you consider ways to be kinder to others. They have given me much to consider.

5. The Source of Christian Kindness

The text tells us what we must believe if the Spirit of God is to conquer unkindness in our hearts. Three things:

1. We must believe that Christ died in our place. Verse 2: "Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." That is simply an awful sentence—that the slaughter of his Son smelled good to God!!! There are in this sentence realities so great and so awful and so wonderful and so devastating that when we believe them, they are the power of God unto sanctification and a great uprooting of unkindness.

2. We must believe that God has forgiven all our sins. Verse 32: " . . . forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you." In order to be kind, you must be forgiven. In order to be kind, you must believe that you are forgiven for all the sins you have ever committed and will ever commit. To know and believe that every slap in God's face has been forgiven freely in Jesus Christ breaks a Christian's heart and makes it lowly and tender and kind.

3. Finally, we must believe that we are loved by God. Verse 1: "Be imitators of God, as loved children." As LOVED children! Child of God, you are loved by God! Believe this with all your heart, and you will behold a miracle in your own life—the fruit of the Spirit, the gift of God!

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us believe these things, and be kind to one another! Amen.

What is Christian Kindness? Part 5

4. The Instrument of Christian Kindness

What do I mean by the "instrument" of Christian kindness? I mean to ask, What is it that we must employ or exert in order to become kind and tenderhearted?

A Passive Verb

The answer is hinted at in the form of the verb in verse 31. Literally it says, "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be taken away from you." The verb is passive. This is a hint that the instrument of our kindness is not simply ourselves. If left to ourselves, we will no more be able to get the bitterness and malice out of our heart than we can lift ourselves by our own bootstraps. It doesn't lie within us.

They must BE TAKEN from us. "Let all bitterness . . . BE taken away from you." Someone else is at work here besides us. It is the same thing we saw in verse 23: "BE renewed in the spirit of your mind." (Another passive verb!) There must be a renewing power or person. There must be a power that takes bitterness and malice from my heart and makes me tenderhearted and kind.

The Holy Spirit and Faith

And we know what that power is (who that person is!) because Galatians 5:22 says very plainly, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness . . . " If the Spirit of God does not come into our lives to do a supernatural work, we may be able to spruce up the outward manners of kindness, but the poison within will remain. Of that Paul says, "Let it BE taken away." This is a cry for the work of the Spirit to conquer the old self and clothe us with the new.

But the question is not fully answered. We must still ask, What is the instrument with which I appropriate the power of the Holy Spirit? And the answer is faith. The Spirit flows in the channels of faith. Paul cries out in Galatians 3:2–3, "Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?"

And our answer should be a resounding, NO! I am not trying to overcome my bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander and malice in the power of the flesh! I am looking to the Holy Spirit to bear his fruit in my life. How am I looking? What am I doing? I am doing what I did to receive him in the first place: I am believing. I am trusting.

Which leaves one last question: What must I believe, in order to see the Holy Spirit conquer the bitterness and anger and malice of my heart and make me tenderhearted and kind? That is the fifth thing that our text teaches us about Christian kindness.

Prayer for a Journey

Lord God, who reigns in the heavens and on the earth; we ask for your guidance and protection for your servant now leaving on his journey. Against all dangers be his strong defense, and be his faithful friend; keep him in health and heart and prosper the ends of his journey. Guard him, we ask you, from all dangers, from sickness, from the violence of enemies, from every evil; and conduct him in safety to his destination with a grateful sense of your mercies, in the firm knowledge the he is yours, through Christ our Lord. Amen. (1906 Presbyterian Common Book of Worship)

What is Christian Kindness? Part 4

3. The Pattern of Christian Kindness

Two patterns of Christian kindness are given for us in the text. First is the forgiveness of God. Second is the love of Christ.

The first we see in verse 32: "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." So when kindness calls for forgiveness, the pattern is the forgiveness of God in Christ.

The second pattern is seen in 5:2, "Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us." So when love expresses itself in kindness, the pattern is the love of Christ giving himself up for us.

Four Qualities of God's Forgiveness

What do these two patterns of kindness teach us about being kind to each other? Let's take them one at a time. What does the pattern of God's forgiveness teach us about our own? Four things come to mind:

God's forgiveness takes sin seriously and so should ours. Forgiveness is not flippancy toward sin. It sees it and names it—and then covers it. God forgives what he hates. When I called a man recently to apologize for something I had said and seek his forgiveness, he didn't say, "It makes no difference." Or: "I didn't hear it." He said earnestly and warmly, "Forgiven, and forgotten." And I got the deep impression he really meant it.

God's forgiveness reckons with a real settling of accounts and so should ours. Every sin that has ever been committed will be justly punished—either in hell or on the cross. God never sweeps one little lie under the rug. Someone always pays. So when kindness calls us to forgive a wrong that has been done against us, we are sustained by the truth of God's holiness. That wrong is going to be dealt with: either the person who committed it against us will trust Christ in the end, in which case the wrong they committed is punished in the wrath that was poured on Christ when the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:4–6); or the person who committed the wrong against us is not going to trust Christ in the end, in which case the wrong that they committed will be punished in the sufferings of hell. And in neither case should we fear to forgive as though there were no settling of accounts in the universe.

God's forgiveness was costly and so is ours. It cost God his Son. And it will cost us the sweet taste of revenge and the pleasure of savoring a grudge and the pride of superiority.

God's forgiveness is real and ours should be too. There is no sham in it. When he forgives, we are really restored. Nothing is held over our heads for later blackmail. It is gone: "As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12). And so we fall short of our divine pattern if we forgive a wrong but secretly plan to keep it in the back of our minds for a later touché. When we forgive, let us really forgive one another, as God in Christ forgave us.

Three Qualities of Christ's Love

That is the pattern of God's forgiveness and four things we can learn from it in pursuing the path of kindness. The second pattern for our kindness is the love of Christ in 5:2, "Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us." What does the pattern of Christ's love teach us about our own? Out of all the things we could say let me just mention three.

The love of Christ for us is undeserved, and so we shouldn't insist that people earn our love and our kindness either. Jesus said in Luke 6:35, "Love your enemies, and do good . . . and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish." None of us has ever qualified to be loved by Jesus Christ. Freely we have received it; freely we should give it (Matthew 10:8).

The love of Christ for us is holy and ours should be holy. The aim of the love of Christ is the holiness of his church: "Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her . . . and present her to himself in glory . . . that she might be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5:25–27). And therefore we should put away all notions of love that are driven by mere sentiment and emotion. Love aims at the holiness of a man and a woman, not at their approval or their worldly happiness. Christian kindness is not a strategy to avoid conflict. It's patterned on the love of Christ and aims to promote holiness.

The love of Christ for us was sacrificial and self-denying, and ours should be too. This is basically the same thing we said earlier, namely, that the love of God was costly. But it is good to say it again. Because every one of us knows that the hardest thing about Christian kindness is to show it when it hurts. I have never forgotten the kindness shown to me by Frau Dora Goppelt in 1974 during the weeks following the unexpected death of her husband, my Doktorvater in Germany. It is a miracle of grace when the pain of loss is so great that you don't know if you can last another day, and yet you reach out in kindness to a foreign student and reassure him that three years of labor will not be lost with the death of his mentor.

A miracle of grace! That brings us to the fourth thing that this text teaches us about Christian kindness. We have seen the extent of Christian kindness in replacing all bitterness and malice and slander. We have seen the depth of Christian kindness in tenderness of heart. We have seen the pattern of Christian kindness in the forgiveness of God and the love of Christ. Now we look at: The Instrument of Christian Kindness.

What is Christian Kindness? Part 3

2. The Depth of Christian Kindness

The point here is that Christian kindness is not merely an external change of manners; it is an internal change of heart. Verse 32 says, "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted. . ." Christian kindness is tenderhearted. If the heart is hard on the inside and the manners are meek and polite and helpful on the outside, it is not Christian kindness.

The idea behind "tenderhearted" is that our insides are easily touched. When your skin is tender, it doesn't take a very hard touch to make it feel pain. When your heart is tender, it is easily affected. It feels easily and quickly.

When you stop and think about it, it is remarkable that this is commanded by the apostle. You can't just decide to be tenderhearted and turn it on like a faucet. It is a deep character quality. Where does it come from? How can we obey this command to make our kindness to each other deep and heart-felt, not superficial and cool? We will see as we move on.

What is Christian Kindness? Part 2

This is the first characteristic of Christian kindness described by John Piper. There are a total of five. This one is a bit long, but I think you'll find it worth your time.

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1. The Extent of Christian Kindness
How much kindness should we show? This is addressed in verse 31 [ from Ephesians 4:31-5:2]. Christian kindness is so extensive that it replaces, "All bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander . . . with all malice." The word "all" is used twice: at the beginning, "all bitterness," and at the end, "all malice." These are part of the old corrupt self that must be put off. And kindness is the opposite new self that must be put on. Paul is still giving specific illustrations of the principle in verses 22–24.

Anger and Kindness

But the question rises whether all wrath and anger should be replaced by kindness. Bitterness, yes. Outbreaks of clamoring belligerence, yes. Rumor-mongering and evil speaking behind backs, yes. Malice, yes. All these, no exceptions, all these must go. But what about wrath and anger?

Verse 26 says, "Be angry but do not sin." And James 1:19 says, "Be slow to anger." And Mark 3:5 says that Jesus looked on the Pharisees with anger. Does the kindness of Jesus always extend to the Pharisees? Is it kind to say to them, as Jesus does in Matthew 23:27, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like whitewashed tombs"? Is it kindness when he says in Matthew 23:15, "Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you cross sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves"? Was it kindness when Jesus made a whip of cords and drove out the money changers from the temple and turned over their tables (John 2:15, Matthew 21:12)?

If you walked up to Jesus after he had done these things and said, "Jesus, that was unkind of you to say that to the Pharisees," what would he have said? There are two possible things he could have said. He could have said, "Sometimes a heart of love and a passion for the truth don't express themselves in the form of kindness." Or he could have said, "There is a sort of kindness that can be hard as nails and tough as leather." Which do you think he would have said: "Kindness is big enough to include whipping and woes"? Or: "Kindness is one form of righteousness, but not always the best one"?

As I have looked over all the uses of the word "kindness" in the New Testament, I think we would honor the special tenderness of the word more by saying that Jesus was not being kind to the Pharisees. He was being severe with them. And Romans 11:22 separates the kindness of God and the severity of God. So kindness is not an absolute virtue. It is not always the most loving thing to do. It may involve a compromise with evil so serious that in the long run it hurts more people than it helps.

The Imprecise Extent of Christian Kindness

So when Paul says in Ephesians 4:26 that we should be angry but not sin, and then says in verses 31–32, get rid of anger and be kind, what I take him to mean is this very thing: All inner bitterness and malice must go. Their eruptions in slander and brawling must go. But when it comes to emotional indignation and you perceive that the teaching of Christ is disobeyed and the glory of God is diminished and the good of the church is in jeopardy, then, under the sway of the Holy Spirit, you must choose: shall I give vent to my anger in severity because the cause of truth and holiness is at stake, or shall I mortify my anger with kindness because there is too much of self in it?

Both are possible in the path of righteousness. And so the extent of Christian kindness is not precise. It may be wider or narrower than we think. This is a call for deep self-examination in the light of Holy Scripture and the deceptiveness of our own heart.

What is Christian Kindness? Part 1

I know I just finished a couple of posts on kindness, but I'm a bit stuck on this virtue and would like to continue a bit. I found this essay by John Piper on his website, Desiring God. Piper lays out five characteristics of Christian kindness. Ill use the next few posts to share them with you.

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"Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." - Ephesians 4:31-5:2

This text is so rich that we could take almost any of its phrases and dwell on it for hours. But I have decided to gather our thoughts around the simple commandment in verse 32, "Be kind to one another."

Five Aspects of Christian Kindness
As I have pondered these verses it seems to me that they tell us five things about Christian kindness:

1. the extent of Christian kindness,
2. the depth of Christian kindness,
3. the pattern of Christian kindness,
4. the instrument of Christian kindness, and
5. the source of Christian kindness.

Let's look at these one at a time. And as we do let's pray that the Spirit of God would honor his Word by causing us to be changed by it.

I'll post these one at a time over the next few days.

Kindness, too

Here is the second part of Steve Witmer's essay on biblical kindness:

Kindness Is Powerful

In her memoir about the journey from being a committed lesbian to a committed Christian, Rosaria Butterfield says that, as a non-Christian, her impression of evangelical Christians was that they were poor thinkers, judgmental, scornful, and afraid of diversity. After publishing a critique of an evangelical Christian group in her local newspaper, she received an enormous volume of polarized responses. Placing an empty box in each corner of her desk, she sorted hate mail into one and fan mail into the other.

Then she received a two-page response from a local pastor. “It was a kind and inquiring letter,” she says. It had a warmth and civility to it, in addition to its probing questions. She couldn’t figure out which box to put the letter in, so it sat on her desk for seven days. “It was the kindest letter of opposition that I had ever received.” Its tone demonstrated that the writer wasn’t against her.

Eventually, she contacted the pastor and became friends with him and his wife. “They talked with me in a way that didn’t make me feel erased.” Their friendship was an important part of her journey to faith.

Are We Kind?

The biblical witness and Butterfield’s testimony should make us wonder how we’re doing. Are we generously inclined toward those around us, or do we think and speak harshly to, or about, them?

For some of us, watching sports, or talent shows (like The Voice), provides an opportunity for airing harsh opinions on physical appearance, ineptitude, or lack of talent. Our verbal slashes too easily become part of the entertainment itself.

For some of us, the daily commute becomes a crucible of kindness. Am I generously inclined toward other drivers, including the guy who just cut me off and the other one who’s tailgating me?

Some of us have to admit that we too often twist the verbal knife of cruel sarcasm, saying what we don’t mean in order to drive home more deeply what we do.

Kindness is no small thing. It yields marvelous fruit both in our lives and the lives of those around us. “Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor” (Proverbs 21:21).

We open ourselves to the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit when we ask him to produce in us kind hearts that overflow through kind lips.

I found another essay on kindness that I would like to share over the next couple of posts.

Kindness

I have realized in my life - and more so lately - that being kind doesn't come easily to human beings, especially me. I try to be kind and I often want to be kind, but more often than not, I am not. Even if I am kind on the outside, inside I can be less than gracious. I want to do better...and maybe you do, too.

I found an article on the Desiring God website by Steve Witmer, who explores biblical kindness:

Kindness is underrated. We equate it with being nice or pleasant, as though it’s mainly about smiling, getting along, and not ruffling feathers. It seems a rather mundane virtue.

But the Bible presents a very different, and compelling, portrait of kindness.

Kindness Is Supernatural

When Paul laid out his case to the church in Corinth that he was a true apostle, he did so by detailing the trials he endured for the sake of the gospel, the inner spiritual life God granted him despite this suffering, and the God-produced spiritual fruit in his life (2 Corinthians 6:1–13). Surprisingly, kindness made his list of spiritual fruit. “You want proof I’m an apostle?” he said, in effect. “Okay, here it is: I’m kind.”

True kindness is Spirit-produced (Galatians 5:22). It’s a supernaturally generous orientation of our hearts toward other people, even when they don’t deserve it and don’t love us in return. God himself is kind in this way. His kindness is meant to lead people to repentance (Romans 2:4), which implies they haven’t yet turned to him, and are still his enemies.

We imitate God’s kindness, therefore, by loving our enemies. Jesus said, “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 is kind to the ungrateful and the evil” (Luke 6:35). Our kindness reflects the heart of our Father. “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

Kindness may not be pleasant. In fact, it may feel more like a blow to the head. “Let a righteous man strike me — it is a kindness; let him rebuke me — it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it” (Psalm 141:5). Jesus called the Pharisees a brood of vipers. That wasn’t pleasant, but it was kind, because Jesus was exposing their sin. A kind physician cuts deep to get your cancer.

I'll post the second part tomorrow.

Prayer of Gratefulness

Here is a prayer adapted from the Presbyterian Common Book of Worship of 1906 on being grateful to God:

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we, your unworthy servants, do give you most humble and hearty thanks for all your goodness and loving kindness to us, and to all people. We bless you for our creation preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all, for your inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we ask you, give us that due sense of all of your mercies, that our hearts may be always thankful, and that we praise you, no only with our lips, but in our lives; by giving up ourselves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days. Amen