Like Royalty: Kindness & Goodness

Both kindness and goodness are closely related, they both stem from love

• Firstly, let’s talk about Kindness:
  • According to the dictionary: Kindness
  • the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate
  • What about Scripture?
  • • if we look at the word kindness in Galatians 5:22, which is in the context of our character it comes from the Greek word chrestotes
      • which not only means goodness as a quality of purity, but also as a gracious disposition in character and attitudes. It encompasses tenderness, compassion, and sweetness.
      • sometimes in scripture, this word is translated to”good” rather than “kind
• Now let’s look at goodness
• Goodness
• (dictionary) the quality of being good, inparticular
• good--morally excellent; virtuous; well-behaved; kind, or friendly
  • In the Greek: agathousune, which is found only four times in the Bible
    • practice or expression of kindness, or doing that which is good
    • Romans l5:14—“I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness [agathousune]
    • It is the natural result of kindness—that inner quality of tenderness, compassion, and sweetness
    • service or ministry to one another, a spirit of generosity put into action
• Now to put them together
  • A kind person is also a good person; a good person is by nature a kind person
  • kindness as an expression of love from one person to another, and of goodness as a quality of being pure
  • Both kindness and goodness require action
    • which often will require some sort of sacrifice or act of generosity from us
    • remember, action can include words too (words of encouragements, compliments)

We all know who the people are who can be described as kind and good.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbVlGESh9Mc
• I showed you that clip because it shows that Rapunzel is able to look past the surface of the roughens and cares about their dreams
• What she is doing is listening to them, that is the most basic way to show kindness to others.

• Biblical kindness/goodness:
  • Jesus came to teach us how to be kind
    • woman at the well
    • tax collectors
    • “And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.’” (Mark 2:15-17, ESV)
• Jesus came to be our example
  • we are to be kind to those who don’t deserve it
  • there is more than enough evil in the world. 
  • a couple of weeks ago we talked about how evil cannot be fought with evil, it can only be fought with love, which is what kindness stems from
• I know this is such a simple concept, but how often do we choose to be feisty rather than kind?
• Challenge: Be kind...do one act of kindness this week.