Be Ye Kind

“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:31-32

We are commanded here to be kind. Most of us would characterize ourselves as being naturally kind people. We know how to say the right things to the people we meet in the course of the day, and we might occasionally let someone go first in traffic.  But true kindness, which flows from a heart of love, requires a great deal more from us. These verses specify some things that we need to get rid of before we can be kind to others. Bitterness and anger sour the soul and eventually give way to harmful words and actions. The only way to root out bitterness and anger is through forgiveness. We are to forgive as Christ has forgiven us. In order to understand the magnitude of this task, we must attempt to get a picture of the holiness of God. When we sin, we sin against God. God’s standard of righteousness is absolute perfection. No matter how hard we try, we can never attain to His holiness. Because we are sinful creatures, our sin is much more offensive to God than the trespasses someone else has committed against us. In order to be kind, we must become tenderhearted and forgive others who have wronged us. When our hearts are free from anger and bitterness, God’s love can fill our hearts and enable us to treat others with true kindness.