Kindness is often overlooked and misinterpreted these days. Being unkind becomes the trend as can be seen in social media, TV shows, at work, at home, everywhere. People love themselves too much. We live in a culture where loving oneself is greatly promoted. Nothing wrong with it except that it’s taken wrongly out of context.
I know because I’ve been there. And I know that being kind to others is a difficult thing to do when we are so full of ourselves, when we feel so entitled, when we look down on others, when we experienced meanness from people before, when we’re offended, and even when we just want to express our minds or take good care of ourselves.
On the other hand, being kind does not mean you let others trample on you. This is where the line between kindness, passivity, and meanness becomes thin. The world will tell us to speak up, stand up, and fight for what’s right. So where do we draw the line?
When I think about these, my head hurts. Why kindness has to be this complicated? Why can’t kindness be as simple as offering water to those who are thirsty or sharing cooked meals to neighbors?
My limited mind can’t understand. But everytime I don’t get answers, God reminds.
Jesus, when He was being spit upon on the face, struck by fists, slapped, and mocked, He didn’t retaliate nor use His power to counter attack, He prayed for those who hurt Him. Now that’s kindness, modeled in the most humiliating way.
Our kindness doesn’t need to be grand, though it can get painful. It means denying ourselves but never to diminish ourselves. It’s expressed in the small, mundane ways; of how we talk with people and about people,
how we think of ourselves and of others, how we act in times when we have the choice to be unkind.
Instead of wishing to be kind and getting frustrated when I cannot, I try focusing on the kindness modeled by Jesus.
God draws the line. He gives wisdom in setting the boundaries between kindness and the rest of the world I worry about.
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
That Girl, Novate 
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