Kindness-It's in the Vault!

A Resolution of Kindness

     This is the season of making resolutions. We resolve to lose weight, eat healthier, or go to the gym more. Some of you may resolve to quit a particular bad habit or to save more money. Whatever your resolution may be now is the time when you are pepped up and ready to go! This year, this month, I would like to challenge you to make a resolution to be more kind. More kindness is what this world needs, and as women, we should resolve to be more kind to everyone we encounter (yes, this includes our husbands!).

     We have the ultimate example of kindness in our savior Jesus Christ. He is kindness. He is love. He is everything we should strive to be. The Bible is full of instructions on being kind. Philippians chapter two, verses three and four say, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

     One of my favorite books right now is called The Power of a Positive Women, by Karol Ladd. She says, “Love in action boosts people to greater heights of development and growth than words or good intentions alone.” What is love in action? It’s not just asking your neighbor who has just become a new mother if she needs help with meals or housework; it’s showing up with dinner and your grungies on so you can help. It’s not letting your elderly neighbor rake up all those leaves by himself. It’s not mumbling loudly when the person in front of you in the express lane clearly has more than 15 items; it’s helping put them on the conveyor. Actions speak louder than words and 1 John 3:18 sums it up. “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”

     We need to remember to do good things and be kind to one another and not to live the way we did before Christ came into our lives (see Titus 3:1-8). It is because of His kindness and mercy that we have hope. This month, I challenge you to share that same kindness with others and spread hope this new year.