Kindness

      You can tell a lot about someone's character, someone's integrity, and someone's spirit by how they treat the people around them.  Kindness is one of those qualities of a person, that, when sincere and genuine, can be extremely dignifying and redeeming of a person's nature and being. It can be one of the most redeeming qualities of a person. 

     They can have all the flaws in the world, all the vices you can think of, but if they are kind and treat people well, they can still maintain a level of dignity and value that kindness brings to them that outweighs most of the downsides of their vices. 

        Kindness is never a weakness. In a world of selfishness, hate,  exploitation, and predatory people, it takes more courage and strength to be kind to your fellow man than brutality and aggression would ever require. Treating your friends with kindness, your family with kindness, and your acquaintances with kindness is essential for your own personal well being as well as the health and stability of your relationships. 

  In particular, treating those you don't like with kindness and compassion, even your enemies, shows a strength of character and a nobility and dignity that reveals you to be a person of good quality and it separates you from the common people who never move past bitterness, hate, and spite. Those who never have the strength to treat even the people they are at odds with with dignity and compassion.

 Taking Jesus's command of "Love your enemies" seriously is not a sign of weakness or flawed judgement. It is a testament of strength that few people actually live up to.  A lot of people can't overcome the base human desire to prey on weakness or seek after revenge when a wrong is done to them. I think most of us have this problem from time to time. I know I do. 

Kindness, for me personally, is one of my best therapies. Even in the midst of my bitterness, or those mental attacks of self-doubt, insecurities, or rage, I make a point to never take it out on other people. I try my best to be kind to other people, to always be friendly, and to show compassion to not just people, but animals as well, because I know what it feels like to be treated poorly, and I hate seeing other people feel that way.  

Helping people feel better about themselves and feel valued is one of those strategies I use to make myself feel better about myself and feel valued. I never feel better when I treat others poorly. I feel worse in the end.  I always want people to feel like they have worth. 

     Kindness is one of the most important qualities of love. Love cannot be felt or projected without kindness being a factor. I would argue you can never be loving without kindness being in your love. 

 Kindness endears you to your friends and makes it harder for you to make enemies. It is one of those "fruits of the spirit" that most greatly demonstrates to those in your life that the spirit of God dwells in you. 

    God's love is shown through you through your kindness to others, and if you have a genuine, noticeable, sincere, and honest kindness that you share and show to other people, your community and your friends and family will look at you as someone to be valued, cherished, and respected. It is a lot easier to appreciate a kind and loving person than it is a hostile and belligerent one.

     In my struggles with resentment, bitterness, and a general inability to let go of trauma, failure, or wrongdoing, kindness is one of those things that makes it easier to cope with those difficulties, both my own kindness as well as the kindness of others.  I always appreciate a good, kindhearted, and respectful friend or acquaintance. They brighten my day, even if that day was a dark one filled with bitterness and flashbacks and resentment. There are few things more enlivening and mentally rejuvenating than being treated with kindness, civility, and respect by the people in my life. 

Love is the greatest medicine for mental illness and trauma. There are few things more therapeutic to the mind and spirit than love and kindness.   

   In my journey to be more loving and kind and purge out the hate and bitterness in my being, I look to Jesus's example and always remain humbled by the example he set when it came to things like kindness and forgiveness. He sets the standard quite high. Very high.  

    As I try to improve my Christian faith, I will try to be kind to people as much as possible, even when I myself am angry, bitter, or am afflicted with hatred and sin. If ever human on the planet would focus on treating people well and forgoing hatred for the sake of love, our world would know peace and reverence to God the likes of which we have never seen in this broken place.