The next fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5 is “kindness,” which is defined as being considerate, generous, and benevolent. Kindness is the character trait that is the opposite of selfishness, and is the nature of one who is thinking of others.
Kindness is basically the opposite of the fallen nature of man. After the first transgression, Adam and Eve immediately looked at themselves, and self-centeredness has been one of the basic characteristics of fallen man since. However, kindness causes us to be more considerate of others, looking out for the interests of others.
Kindness is the opposite of being harsh. It is a thoughtful, generous demeanor that would not tend to overreact. It is not prone to think the worst about others, but the best, always being generous. How different would the world be if everyone became kind toward one another, always regarding others in the best light instead of the worst, and always being generous in their dealings with one another? How would the church be different? How would our families be different?
Because kindness is a “fruit of the Spirit,” it is a very basic characteristic of the nature of God, and will be a basic characteristic of His kingdom that is coming. Those who are helping to prepare the way for His kingdom will have this as a very basic character trait as well. Kindness is such a radical contrast with the nature of people that any who are truly kind will stand out like a great light. This is our calling. If we are not standing out in this way then we are not as spiritual as we think, regardless of how much knowledge we have.
Think about the last thing that someone did which really upset you. Now think about how you would have reacted to the situation if kindness was a basic part of your nature. Would you have done anything differently? For most of us the answer would be “yes.” If the people you know were asked to think of the kindest person they know, would you be one who comes to mind? If not, how do you get there? How do you change?
Many think that to not do what they feel like doing in a situation is dishonest, or being a fake. However, this is not dishonest, but rather the pursuit of transformation. As we have discussed, this is called “the fruit of the Spirit,” because like fruit it must be cultivated and grown. To bear fruit a tree must be planted, watered, and protected while it is growing. Then, after it begins to bear fruit you must prune it by cutting off the branches that are not bearing fruit.
Just as the Lord created man to have fellowship with and to cultivate the garden, the cultivation of the garden of our heart is accomplished the same way. The Lord will walk with us in it, but He also expects us to do a lot of the work. It is a partnership. The Holy Spirit is the One working in this transformation, but we, too, have a part to play. How do we do our part?
First, we discern through our fellowship with the Lord what He wants cultivated in our life. Then, like in the Parable of the Sower, we determine the threats to the seed which is planted in us by the Word of God, and we protect it until there is fruit. If we have good soil, there will be fruit, but if we are careless, which means to care less, the seed is likely to be stolen so that there is no fruit.
The seed is the Word of God, and the watering of the seed is also from the Word of God. If we know the Lord is working on cultivating kindness in us, we should be sensitive to this. We should be faithful to water this seed with His Word by memorizing Scriptures about kindness, quoting them over and over while considering how we should apply them in our everyday life. We need to also consider how to guard them from threats, such as the devil’s attempts to steal it, shallowness on our part, and the cares and worries of this world that would choke out the seed.
Most of us still have several hundred things wrong with us that need changing, but it is the devil’s strategy to try to get you to work on all of them at once, knowing that if you do this you will quickly be worn out and defeated. In contrast to this, the Holy Spirit usually works on just one or two things at a time, knowing that one victory in one area can create a breakthrough and momentum that translates into victories in many other areas. That’s why this is the “fruit of the Spirit,” singular, instead of nine “fruits” of the Spirit.
That’s also why the Word of God exhorts us to pursue love which is the highest. If we are growing in love, we will be kind, patient with others, etc. Therefore, the fruit of the Spirit are the basic characteristics of love. We are even told that “faith works by love.” Even so, at times we need to focus more specifically on one or two of these character traits, such as abiding in the peace of God, or just simply being kind to others. Proverbs 3:3 exhorts us to, “Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.”
In those times they did not have vaults or safety deposit boxes, so a person would hang their greatest treasure from their neck in a pouch. When someone read this Proverb they would therefore think that kindness and truth should be considered as their greatest treasures. If we considered kindness one of our greatest treasures in this way, we would never be careless with it, or lose it when we felt offended. It would be too precious to cast off just for the sake of such things. How would the world be impacted today if every Christian did this?
In Romans 2:4 the apostle Paul writes, “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” If it is God’s kindness that calls men to repentance, that kindness being expressed through us will do the same for others. It may not be immediate, but kindness and generosity are powerful weapons against the evil strife of this world.
If such strife, backbiting, selfish ambition, and other such things are having their way at our workplace, neighborhood, family, or church, kindness will be one of the most powerful weapons to overcome them. We must always keep in mind that we overcome evil with good. As we are told in Colossians 3:12-13:
bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
We must also keep in mind that if we are being confronted with evil strife, the Lord has probably allowed it so that we could grow in kindness. Do not waste your trials, but discern the purpose for them, and grow in the Lord through this great opportunity. In II Peter 1:5-7, we are given a progression of how we grow in the nature of the Lord:
and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness;
and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
As we see here, kindness is the last step before love. We might conclude that if this is something that the Lord is dealing with us about, it is an encouraging sign of maturity. Of course, until we are like Jesus, and doing the works that He did, we still need to grow more in all of these character traits. True godly kindness is the hallmark of a truly spiritual and mature believer.
