Twelve Days of Kindness-Day 11!

But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men. Titus 3:4-8

Can we ever attain extending the level of kindness to others that God has shown towards us? Probably not, but it wouldn't hurt to try. Instead of allowing our fickle emotions to rule us, we can and should allow Holy Spirit to guide us in all things. For if we allow Him to guide us, then we get closer to being more like God would have us to be.

Kindness is a virtue--an outcome, end result, of love and mercy--unconditional love and forgiveness--not holding onto grudges or past wrongs. If we are not kind people--full of love and mercy--it would be difficult, if not impossible to show kindness to others--a genuine, sincere kindness, not the phoniness that many produce in their attempt to pretend kindness.

Genuine kindness shown to others does so without thought of receiving anything in return. Sincere people are simply kind because it's their nature to be kind--and not attempt to impress or prove anything to anyone else.

How do we know who's sincere and who is disingenuous? Sincere people are openly generous with kind words and smiles--they seldom raise their voices in anger and would rather walk away from a situation than to belittle themselves trying to make a point or get "one-up" on someone else. Kind people are just so filled with love they simply do--no questions asked, because they genuinely want to help or to encourage others.

So, the question on this eleventh day of kindness is--are we sincere and genuine people? Do we act with a hidden agenda when we're being kind because we expect to get something out of what we do?

I pray that every kindness extended to others is a genuine reflection of love and mercy and when opportunity presents itself, a door is open to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I pray that everyone who has been reading this blog and extending kindness is filled to overflowing with more love to keep extending kindness beyond the twelve days. I also pray that we have become so inclined to being kind to others that kindness is now a genuine habit, one we won't have to work on but will stand out as who we are.

 Smile--someone needs it today!