1 Corinthians 13:4a Love is patient, love is kind.
We are starting on our fifth month of writing about how love is active and finally getting back to the “love chapter”, 1 Cor 13. Love is kind is in the very first sentence, so it probably deserves some attention.
Kindness is not just the opposite of being mean. While it is true that the absence of bullying or hurtful behaviors would be a nice relief, kindness goes further than that. Being kind requires deliberate action. Being kind requires you to pay attention to the needs of others. Paul says it like this in Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
Noticing when someone is struggling or needs help is great, but meeting that need or offering a hand up is an act of kindness. Noticing when someone is lonely or afraid is great, but being available to listen or walk through a situation with them is an act of kindness. Doing things that are simple and thoughtful like picking up after ourselves or putting the grocery cart back are not necessarily required, but are acts of kindness for the people who would have to clean behind us.
Jesus constantly put others before himself. We see him interrupted often and he is always gracious and responds to the real need of that individual. Jesus was kind to those he met and if we want to be little-Christs (Christians), we have to learn to emulate him. Kindness takes forethought and intentional effort. Love Cares!
