1 Corinthians 13:3-4 – “If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind.” (NLT)
The number one felt need of people is a sense of safety. We live in a fallen, sinful world that leaves people feeling insecure, beat up, and slow to trust others. Kindness is proactive in nature; seeing needs and then seeking to meet them without being prompted or provoked. In turn, this helps build trust in people to where they feel safe to share with you. Kindness gains a hearing and influence, while a lack of kindness shuts people off regardless of one’s wisdom.
Patience helps deflate problems while kindness then works in unison to create blessings. Patience is preventive while kindness is proactive.
Jesus Christ works within Christians who are abiding in Him daily to become more sensitive and aware of the needs around them. The Holy Spirit prompts opportunities to serve and bless. Kind people, who are being led by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, put their own agenda aside when they see the need of another they can meet. By the grace of God, kind people have a good attitude, knowing they are not just serving that person but Christ himself.
Kind people are also gentle people. They are proactive to address problems but bend over backwards to be sensitive with their timing and the attitude with which they are speaking. When conflict arises, kind people work to stay flexible and pray for creative ways to compromise rather than demand their own way.
Heavenly Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for your loving-kindness! Holy Spirit help us to see the needs around us today and to be proactive in meeting those needs to the glory of Jesus’ name. Amen.