“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;”
and is kind;
A “kind” person actively involves himself in the welfare of others. Kindness is active goodwill towards others that has an interest in helping them. It makes the attitude of kindness real in experience. The idea in this word is that love is benign, free from a cancerous attitude towards others. It is the opposite of malignant. Some people are good but unkind. It is not enough to be merely good in God’s economy. We need to be fluid and flexible in our goodness. The word “kind” includes the idea of mercy; this person can actively show beneficence to others despite ingratitude.
PRINCIPLE:
It is not enough to be good toward others; we must be actively merciful towards them.
APPLICATION:
Kindness is a fruit of the Spirit (Ga 5:22). Kindness does not carry a chip on its shoulder. A person with a chip on his shoulder does not tolerate any injustice, but the smallest provocation will set him off. Someone may say, “I want to be earnest and truthful and tell them what I think.” It possible to show longsuffering towards others but not demonstrate kindness towards them. Kindness keeps fluid in its transmission.
Ep 4:31-32, Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
