‘Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness.’ Colossians  3:12 NIV

When you get up in the morning, you must not only clothe yourself physically but spiritually and emotionally as well. As we gear ourselves up mentally, we all too often are choosing an attitude from a wardrobe of possibilities. Will we decide to wear the happiness of smiles or the serious tone of a frown? Now you might think that when you’re kind, people will constantly take advantage of you. That may sometimes happen, but here are two reasons to be kind:

(1) ‘For it is by grace you have been saved.’ (Ephesians 2:8 NIV) Grace and kindness always go together. Poet Robert Burns said, ‘The heart that is generous and kind most resembles God.’

(2) If you want people to be kind to you and treat you right, take Jesus’ advice; ‘Do to others what you would have them do to you.’ (Matthew 7:12 NIV) If you are rude, people are going to be rude to you. But if you are kind, most people will desire to respond the same way.

‘Be kind and honest and you will live a long life; others will respect you and treat you fairly.’ (Proverbs 21:21 GNT) And here is another reason to be kind: ‘Your own soul is nourished when you are kind; it is destroyed when you are cruel.’ (Proverbs 11:17 TLB) When you are kind to others, you are obeying God. ‘As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.’ (Colossians 3:12 NIV)

Try living that way every day!

SoulFood: Gen 44-46, John 19:1-24, Ps 148:7-14, Ecc 5:4-6

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2024