But the fruit of the Spirit is
love
joy
peace
patience
kindness
goodness
faithfulness
gentleness
and self-control.
There is no law (Jewish Law) against such things.

The Lord has set us free so that we may enjoy the benefits of freedom.

So keep on standing firm in it, and stop putting yourselves under the yoke of slavery again. 

Blessed is the one who remains steadfast under trial.

James

My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.

Dalai Lama

Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.

Mark Twain

Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.

Henry James

Human kindnes has never weakened the stamina or softened the fibre of a free people. A nation doesn't have to be cruel to be tough.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue;

and to virtue knowledge;

and to knowledge temperance;

and to temperance patience;

and to patience godliness;

and to godliness brotherly kindness;

and to brotherly kindness charity.

For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Peter

Do not neglect the gift that is in you.

living water

I am made in the image of God, not your image of God.

Jesus came to enable those who are people of faith in his own time and his own period to reclaim what is meant to be in relationship with God.

A God that was bigger than any theology, a God that was bigger than any denomination, a God that was bigger than any Rabbi, a God that was deeply and profoundly in love with humanity!

He wanted those people to get a glimse of what that relationship might look like.

He called those believers, and I believe those who are believers today to reclaim that sacred identity of who we are.

And that's another cool thing my Senior Pastor told us.

PROGRAM LISTINGS & PROGRAM SCHEDULES

"He is so sweet." "So kind." "A bleeding heart!" You've probably experienced that klind of sarcasm. The jabs. The bullying. The insults. "A push over."

Count such sarcasm blessings - eye-opening blessings! But that's not why I am here today. I am here at the behest of Courage, Fibre, and Spirit. How about you?

Love is KIND.

Sharing time!

I live in an abundance of kindness. It is a marvelous community. Unkindness is prevalent everywhere around too, but my vision is skewed. A wonderful woman (during the wonder years of my youth) took me into a beautiful garden. Her name is Mrs Grooms. A seasmstress she was. Tough lady. Unforgettable. She told me a story. Never mind the story. That's not what I came to tell you. She showed me many flowers in her garden. I saw them. I had seen them before. She showed them to me again. Then again. Mrs Grooms was never boring. Not with me! Suddenly, I saw them differently. I still do. But that's not what I came to tell you about either. We sat by her lilites. We stood by her hibiscus trees. Yes, I call them trees. We came to her roses. She laughed. "Love!" she exclaimed then laughed again. "God made them all," she said, "but we represent our love with this flower. The rose!" She laughed again. "I think God laughs, you know," she said. "Don't you think God laughs? You've got to have a sense of humor to create a crapaud." I laughed. But that's not what this is about either. "Look at this rose bush," she said. "What do you see?" Roses, I said. "Look at it again," she said. "Now what do you see?" Beautiful roses, I said. She laughed again then said, "Lord, a bush full of thorns and this young man sees roses. God, only you could have created a man with such a mind. Thank you, Jesus. Let me learn." When she was done laughing she said, "Young man, you who are the joy of the Lord, I've got a story for you." Then she told me the story. She skewed my vision.

I love Mrs. Grooms.

What is kindness? Who is kind? Why are they kind?
Love is Kind!

Kindness is an action. No way around it. Kindness is a brave act. It operates in regions of vulnerability. No way around that either. Kindness requires compassion. An act of pity is not a kind act; it is an act of pity. Kindness is beautiful. Kindness exposes vulnerability then heals it; It is a bonding agent. Kindness is not a bait. A bait is the leading edge of a trap. Trapping is a predatory act. Acts of kindness unblock clogged passages. Kindness is the hand of freedom. Coercion does not birth kindness; it may expose weakness; it may trip a trap. Kindness cares.

Kindness! Is there any value to that quality of being?

Love is kind.

Are you being used and abused? Are you being coerced, put upon, demanded of, required, bounded by oath, pressed upon, overpowered to do? IS THAT LOVE?

Love is kind.

Are you using, abusing, coercing, demanding, requiring, binding to oath, pressing upon, or in any manner using your strength, force, advantage or power to extract from the vulnerable? IS THAT LOVE?

Love is kind.

"It is harder to be kind than to be clever," we learn from a video presentation at the end of today's episode.

Now, kindness is NOT love. Love is Kind. This difference is wotthy of note to us on at least two grounds. 1. LOVE is the subject of interest in our current series, in particular, we are evaluating or investigating how we might authentically experience LOVE. 2. Kindness is a quality of being proven exceptional in its value to our humaness, to our humanity, to community, to survival, to thriving.

Four years of recent ongoing research confirms what you probably knew: it feels amazing to perform acts of kindness. Kindness reduces stress. It is a bonding agent. It uplifts community. Some communities are exceptionally good at being kind to one another, especially in moments of communal suffering and disaster. We are also learning that while individual acts engender an 'uplifting' feeling, there is another state. An overwhelming sense of happiness, of joy, of well being, is a strong element of the lifestyle of those for whom kindness is a quality of being. In other words, these act kindly because they ARE kind. Kindness is part and parcel of their character, their personality, their behavioral choice, their very being. The experiential difference between these two states is striking.

Love is kind. Kindness is not love; it is a bonding agent. Isn't that awesome? But . . . Love is . . . kind.

Being fully functional and wholly human!

Love is . . .

Ah, love! Love. Love. Love.

What's the fuss?

Do you find - in this moment - love to be fulfilling, intimidating, illusive, frustrating, fickle, fake, or just a wild fantasy, a romantic illusion? If love is real, what is love's function in wholehearted living?

A bothersome side effect of a series on the nature of authentic love would be for someone to make a dash for the measuring stick then to run around measuring the quality of everyone else's profession of love. (You know, is it or isn't it real?) I wouldn't recommend that approach, not in the least, except of course if that someone is most eager to examine his or her own quality of love. Then, sure! Perhaps by such a fine measure we'll find ourselves ripe for growth - a grand thing - I think, except - I suppose - those who have already attained. Then let them be. Love is kind.

It is easier to be kind when we are, as it were, able to step in that other person's shoes and walk their journey wearing it. Research suggests that children's brains are hardwired for empathy. Why then does kindness appear to be so lacking amongst us grown ups?

We have an acknowledged problem!

Top universities, including Harvard, Yale and Princeton, in yet another effort to influence human kindness, launched a report and a new admissions strategy complete with concrete recomendations, entitled, 'Turning The Tide: Inspiring Concern for Others and the Common Good through College Admissions.' How would you address this problem? How would you turn the tide for those not seeking college admission?

If children are hardwired to be kind, what is screwing-up this wiring by the time we are adults? I'll highlight two research uncoverings. As well, I'll suggest alongside that courage, persistence and honesty are called for.

1. Our words don't match our actions. We tell our children kindness is valued and important. Recent research shows 'kindness' is at the top of parents' list of values they report teaching their children. When those very children were surveyed and provided a list of the ihierarchy of values their parents claim to be most important for their children to embrace, and those very children are asked to indicate their parents said priorities, those very children place kindness at the bottom of the list! Ooops! [Children arrive in our world learning through the language of actions long before they begin learning the meaning of words. Quite telling, isn't it?]

2. It is a tribal thing. There exists an abundance of extraordinary stories of empathy and benevolence and altruism and, in other words, kindness. Then why this great deficiency? It's a tribal thing. Globally, people are extraordinarily kind to those within their tribe (however one might describe tribe) while at the same time and in the very breath being CRUEL to those outside their tribe, and percieve themselves as kind, not cruel!

We have a problem.

I'll suggest this is exactly what is at the heart of our global crisis. It is one of three. Those who are being CRUEL to the 'other' see the 'other' as a threat rather than as a tribal member and see themselves as exercising kindness to their tribe by being CRUEL to the 'threat.' This is not new. It's just gone global. How old is this problem? Reference Genesis! What's the good news? Today, a) we all know it exists, and b) we are offered a solution: love is kind. What do you think? Do we have the courage, fiber and spirit required for kindness? How willing are you to be effortlessly kind to those 'outside' of your tribe?

Jesus did it.

"Knowledge that takes you not beyond yourself is far worse than ignorance."
Elif Shafak.

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Something To Consider

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You are

What a PRIVILEGE!