Aspire to be Kind.  By Laura Carson.

Proverbs 19:22 “What is desired in a man is kindness…”

We are judged by our kindness.  Kindness is visible.  People can hear how we speak and watch how we act. People all around witness our daily interactions with others.  We need to apply kindness through our speech and our actions.  We need to be visible reflections of Christ in this harsh and hurting world.  God is a beautiful example of kindness.

We do not know when someone needs a kind word, so we need to listen for the Holy Spirit’s leading and be intentional with our kindness.

The Bible mentions kindness in over 200 instances and kind is mentioned over 400 times.  It is an act of charity, or the lifting up (figuratively) of others.  God’s word offers wisdom for threading this godly attribute into our lives, even when disagreeing with someone.  We should begin by looking at the well known “love chapter” of the Bible 1 Corinthians 13.  It lists several key ingredients of love, with our focus word showing up near the beginning in verse 4:  ”Love suffers long and is kind,…”

The Bible reminds us that being kind is a virtue. 

God will notice when we practice kindness.  He knows it can be hard to choose compassion when you feel someone has hurt you.  But the Bible tells us that showing the same kindness towards others as God shows us is perhaps one of the most meaningful actions you can take.

Kindness offers reward, its opposite (cruelty) brings destruction.  Those who are kind benefit themselves, but the cruel bring ruin on themselves.  Proverbs 11:17 “The merciful man does good for his own soul, but he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.”

Truly the Bible can be a great source of inspiration to remind us how to be kind to others.   Treat others the way you wish to be treated; you never know the impact your kindness may have on another.

Can you believe that some savvy business folks have actually quantified kindness?  ROI Return on Investment:

The annual turnover rate in employees in the Quick Service Food industry is 170%.  But there are two companies that constantly focus on kindness more than any other in this business. Their companies only have 14% and 24% turnover rates.  

In other words, these two companies retain their employees 8 to 10 times more than their competitors.  What do you want to bet that those two companies are Christian based.  They invested kindness and in return they have retained more of their employees.

We hold a tremendous opportunity and biblical responsibility to demonstrate kindness.  When we head out into the day, why not follow the wisdom of God’s word and make an intentional choice to be kind in our society that is so in need of it.