TAKE TIME TO BE KIND
By Carolyn Dale Newell
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;
Colossians 3:12 (NKJV)
I was rushing through my Twitter feed, only stopping to read an occasional tweet. I paused and read one from a sister in Christ. She said that she would be away from Twitter for a while. I should tell her that I’ll miss her, but no, I don’t have time today.
The next day, she tweeted me with great appreciation for a devotion that I had written. After several tweets, I learned her reason for leaving social media. She saw everyone talking to each other, and she felt left out. Something I wrote was speaking to her, but her words were speaking volumes to me.
I should have made time to respond to her the day before. I wasn’t being very sociable with my social media.
Friend, have you been there? Perhaps, you scurried by someone, and you never knew their need. You may be the one who has been passed by. Satan has successfully filled our schedules until there is no time for kindness.
We are God’s children, and like children, we should model the same characteristics of our Father. Paul tells us to “put on” kindness along with mercy, humility, meekness, and longsuffering or patience. Just like we put on our clothes every day, we should “put on” kindness and these other qualities.
Kindness – a fruit of the Spirit – is simple. It doesn’t take much time. A tweet, a text, a smile or a hug can be priceless to the person who feels lonely and discouraged. We are very capable of being kind. We just need to make it a habit. We don’t even need to pray for opportunities for kindness. They are all around us. Let’s make the time to lavish the next person we see today with kindness.
Heavenly Father,
Forgive me for the times when I get so caught up in my own world that I don’t exhibit kindness. Help me to extend kindness to whoever I come in contact with today. Thank You for Your loving kindness, amen.
DIG DEEPER
Proverbs 31 describes a godly woman. Notice what Prov. 31:26 (NKJV) says about kindness: “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness.”
HIKING THE TRAIL
Reflect upon the past 24 hours. Where could you have shown more kindness? How can you express kindness today?
Copyright 2015 Carolyn Dale Newell.
A Mountain of Faith 