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A kind word gesture can soften the hardest heart.
Providing a kind word, showing compassion, or offering words of encouragement can deeply affect someone's life.
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. Our purpose is not only to look after ourselves but also to assist others. When you make an effort to support others, you will find joy in being able to make a positive impact on that individual.
Studies have been conducted on the impact of being kind to others. According to researchers, demonstrating kindness through gifts or gestures brings joy to the giver. They observed that areas of the brain associated with pleasure were more active when the act of giving was done willingly.
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 recounts a situation where a woman encountered a homeless man asking for money on a cold winter night. As the man shared his hardships, including the theft of his coat at the shelter, the woman searched for change in her pockets. Despite her initial intention to offer money, the woman realized that the homeless man valued her willingness to listen to his story more than the fifty cents she eventually gave him. The author referred to this compassionate act as "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 encounter special treatment and receive things we do not deserve because it is His character to demonstrate kindness that goes above and beyond the norm.
"Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up." — Proverbs 12:25
Similar to how any behavior spreads, kindness is also infectious. When someone demonstrates kindness towards you, it triggers positive emotions within you, leading you to extend that kindness to others.
Kindness is contagious in three ways.
Firstly, 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.
Secondly, 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.
Thirdly, 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 involves not only your actions but also your words as words have the power to inspire and make an impact. The Bible 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. So when you are kind to others, you will start to see a rise in the number of people being kind to you and your love ones.
Your one act of kindness leads to good in the world and can change the world. Lastly, think about the time when kindness was done to you? How did it make you feel?
Here's what to read next: Stop Accusing
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A call for salvation
When you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, His spirit will come to live inside you. This is one of the greatest blessings of salvation. You don't have to go through someone else to get to God, and He will live in your heart where you and Him become one and have a relationship.
All you have to do is make the choice of salvation by repenting of your sins 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).
Here's a prayer you can repeat:
"Jesus, I confess that you are Lord, and I believe you died and was risen for my sins. I repent and ask for forgiveness of my sins, and I accept you as my personal Lord and Savior. Come into my heart and remove my sins. Thank you for forgiving me and making me into a new person in Jesus' name, Amen."
Once you have done this, please pray and ask God to guide you to a ministry where you can grow and start living the abundant life Jesus promised and died for.
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