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A kind word gesture can soften the hardest heart.
The Scriptures let us know that love comes in many forms. In 1Corinthians 13:4–7, it gives us a great description of what love is, and one of them is kindness.
Being kind is rewarding. We are created not only to take care of ourselves but to also help people. When you seek out to help others, you will take pleasure in being able to do good for that person.
There have been studies on the effects of kindness toward others. Researchers found that when a person shows kindness to someone in gifting or gesture, it makes the giver happy. They found that regions of the brain that experience pleasure were heightened when the giving was voluntary.
Kindness may seem small, but it changes the way others see you and see themselves.
Being kind removes the distance between two people, and it helps us to become connected. Through this connection, you start to see the value and worth in the other person, and depending on the relationship, a bond starts to build.
Kindness helps to usher in the essence of love, and when you love someone, it is impossible to have animosity, hatred, and hostility toward them.
If you could close your eyes for a moment and picture a world full of kindness, what would you see? Will there be hunger? No, because each person will ensure that the other person is fed. Will there be violence? No, because each person will consider the effects of their actions toward other people. Instead, it would be a world of love, peace, joy, and goodness. Most importantly, we would be acting in the same way as our Creator (Ephesians 4:32).
What Is Kindness?
Kindness is being merciful and gentle. It is not harsh and recognizes you are of the same nature as others. You see others as being like you and you like them.
Kindness is seeing someone in need and helping them out. Kindness is choosing to put someone else's needs before our own and overall doing something helpful for someone.
When kindness becomes your personality, you will take immense pleasure doing kind things for people.
Being kind is free, yet it has the power to improve the well-being of the person receiving it.
Matthew 5:42 says, “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”
Power in Kindness
We are living in a “me first” type of society. For many of us, we are taught from the cradle to “look out for number one!” and many of us do just that. We are self-focused and self-possessed. An unfortunately large segment of the world population finds it difficult to see beyond themselves to look at those around them. How often do we act without considering the effect of our actions on those around us. — Becki Rizzuto
Unkindness affects our society. Unkindness is selfish, and when you are selfish, it creates selfish ambitions and motives. How can you be a blessing to others when you are only focused on benefiting and blessing yourself?
When you are kind to someone, you leave a lasting impression on that person. It gives that person hope in a world that is full of inconsideration, harsh behavior, and unloving ways. And it eliminates conflict between people and nations.
Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. — Mark Twain
An author talks about a woman and a homeless guy who was begging for money during a chilly winter night. While begging, the homeless man started to tell the woman that his coat had been stolen in the homeless shelter where he stayed and described a few other troubles he was having.
While she was digging in her pockets to find some change, he continued to tell his story. When she finally found the money, she dropped it into the man’s cup.
She later realized that night that the fifty cents she gave him was appreciated, but what meant more to the homeless man was the fact that someone took the time to hear his story. The homeless man was happier in her being kind enough to listen than the money that was given. The writer called this act of kindness “the ministry of being there.”
Kindness is a facet of God’s love and His nature. He encourages us to be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as He forgives us for the things we do (Ephesians 4:32). And He goes out of His way to offer you kindness, even when you do not deserve it.
His kindness leads to favor where He expresses His fondness for us. It is where we experience preferential treatment and get what is unearned because it is His nature to act in kindness beyond what is expected or usual.
Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up. — Proverbs 12:25
Kindness becomes infectious just like any other behavior. When someone does something kind to you or for you, it makes you feel good. And most likely, you will do something kind for someone else.
Kindness is contagious in three ways.
First, we feel elevated when someone helps us. We are on the crest of an emotional wave and from this state we feel inspired to help other people.
Second, depending upon the situation we might also feel relieved when someone helps us, especially if the situation we are in is stressful. Receiving and giving kindness reduces stress or worry as we feel a surge of relief. When stress goes away and is replaced with a feeling of relief, we are more likely to act on opportunities to help others.
Third is when we see someone being kind, something inside tells us that this is what we should be doing too, and so we are inspired by observing someone's kind behavior. This is called social contagion.
Being kind can become a lifestyle. When you intentionally act in kindness, it eventually becomes a habit and when something is a habit, it becomes a regular practice or tenancy.
Kindness is more than what you do, but it is also what you say because words are motivating and words are effective. And when you read the Bible it lets us know how a kind word can help build up a person.
A kind word can help someone develop into someone great. When you say kind words to someone, you are doing a good thing inside them.
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. — Ephesians 4:29
Remember the principles of life? One of them is to treat others as you would like to be treated.
Have you ever had an act of kindness done to you? How did it make you feel? Your one act of kindness leads to good in the world and can change the world.
Do you want the types of qualities to be impactful, influential, and successful? All you have to do is make the choice of salvation by repenting and accepting Jesus into your life by confessing that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that He came from Heaven to die for your sins (Romans 10:9).
This decision will allow God’s unconditional love to shape the outcome of your life. All that's required is to be opened to God's unconditional love which is powerful enough to help change your ways.
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