07 Fruit of the Spirit: Kindness

Krisan Marotta: Welcome to the Wednesday in the Word podcast. I'm Krisan Marotta, and this is my podcast about what the Bible means and how we know. This is the seventh talk in my series on the fruit of the spirit. The blog post version of this podcast is at WednesdayInTheWord.com slash fruit-spirit-kindness. Glad to have you along. Well, in this series, we are searching for an understanding of what Paul had in mind when he wrote the list of the fruit of the spirit. We are exploring scripture to see what scripture says about these concepts and therefore what Paul was thinking when he wrote the list. I have been arguing that the items on this list are not feelings. Rather, they result from a profound shift in worldview. As the Spirit of God teaches us truth, our perspective changes, and that changes how we choose to act, respond, and treat each other. For those of you just joining us, I will remind you of the context of Galatians where we find this list. In the letter to the Galatians, Paul spends most of his time refuting the argument of the Judaizers that it's not enough to believe in Jesus. The Judaizers claim that faith in Jesus is a good starting point, but Gentile believers must also keep the law. And Paul spends most of his time arguing that is not true. Faith in Jesus is sufficient for salvation. In chapter 5, where we find the list, Paul argues that law-keeping does not promote the kind of change the Judaizers claim it does. It doesn't make a person holy or good because it changes nothing about who we are inside. We may strive to keep laws that we used to break on the outside, but inside we are still sinners. Conversely, Paul argues that true moral transformation, real, genuine change, comes about in believers through the Spirit of God. Christ's death on the cross reconciles us to God, therefore, God can give us his spirit, and his spirit changes us from the inside out. As the Spirit teaches us truth that changes our worldview, and the results are the items on this list he calls the fruit of the Spirit. In this series, we're on a quest to figure out what those are. And today we are talking about kindness. Now, the word kindness is a simple idea, but I think it's very profound. In the New Testament, we see kindness being used in two main ways. First, kindness describes working to accomplish a good result for someone. To be kind to someone is to act in a way that brings something good to them. Kindness is an action. It is not the way I feel towards someone else, it is the way I act toward them. I am actively working for their good, and that is kindness. When we looked at peace and long suffering, we talked about how that could be withholding a response. We might decide not to strike back or not to respond in kind. This word kindness is more active. With kindness, we're not just holding back an angry response or choosing not to retaliate. We are actively working for someone else's benefit. The second context where we see this word kindness is to describe doing good for someone in spite of their faults. I treat them well, and as I treat them well, I am overlooking some weakness, some flaw, or some fault or offense in the other person. I'm not striking back, I'm being kind, I'm not getting angry, I'm acting in a way that brings about their good, and I'm acting kindly despite the way they have treated me. And this is certainly the case when the Bible talks about God's kindness toward us, and that's the place we're going to start. These qualities in the fruit of the Spirit are intrinsic to being a person of faith because I think they are part of God's character. The Spirit produces these qualities in us because the Spirit is making us more like Christ and more like our Heavenly Father. Let's look at Titus 3, one through seven. Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Paul is talking to believers in this section. Paul reminds us we were once foolish ourselves. No matter how mature we are in the faith now, once upon a time we were disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, being hateful and hating each other. And everyone starts this way. We were fools, we were slaves, we were at war with each other. Maybe our war was a polite one, but we were still competitors and antagonists. Or it could be that our war was a full-fledged feud. But then the kindness of God, our Savior, and his love for mankind appeared and he saved us. Why did he save us? Not on the basis of deeds we have done in righteousness, but according to his mercy. God did not treat us the way we deserve to be treated. Instead, he acted kindly toward us. We were fools, we were enemies of God. He could have condemned us, but instead he responded in kindness. He decided not to give us what we deserved, and instead he chose to be merciful. And in choosing to be merciful, he rescued us and he saved us. Our situation was bleak. We were completely lost because we were enemies of God. By all rights he could reject and condemn us, but he did not. And how did he save us? He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior. What did his kindness lead him to do? The part that Paul focuses on here in Titus is he saved us by washing us. He gave us his spirit to transform us. We were fools, we rejected the truth, we were God's enemies and enemies with each other, but in his kindness, God overlooked all that, and through his spirit, he washed us. Now Paul is talking about something that has actually happened in believers. We're not talking about something here that's going to happen one day. Right now, his spirit is at work in believers. We are now willing to embrace the truth of the gospel because we have been washed, reborn, and renewed. We have experienced a profound change, and that change is a result of God's kindness. God rescued us from our hostility to truth. We were running away from God, but he caught us and called us back to himself. He washed us, he renewed us, and he made us right with him all because of what Christ did. Now, if you've listened to much of my teaching, you probably know how I understand this washing and renewal. I do not believe that the Bible teaches that in this life we have been or will be completely freed from sin. I don't think the Bible teaches the so-called victorious Christian life. I don't think it's possible for us to be perfect right now. In this life, we will continue to wrestle with sin. Nonetheless, a genuine transformation has happened through the Spirit of God. The work of the Spirit is a truly profound and significant change. And what made it possible for us, Jesus Christ, our Savior, made it possible. He died on the cross so that we could be reconciled to God. Once we're reconciled, it's possible now for God to send us his spirit to produce all this change. And because of that, we now have hope. We are heirs of eternal life. Before we had no hope, we were facing condemnation, but now we stand to inherit everything that God has promised. This action of saving us when we didn't deserve saving is a picture of the kindness of God. How has God been kind toward us? He overlooked our foolishness. He washed us and he renewed us and he gave us hope of life in his kingdom. Now God's kindness is both a present reality and a future hope. There is a kindness that God is performing in our lives right now. That's what we've just been talking about. We've been justified, washed, and renewed, and this happens at conversion. We are now right with God. We are no longer under his wrath. We are adopted as his children because of what Christ did on the cross. The other kindness of God that we experience right now is that he sustains our lives. And he does that on both those who love him and those who reject him. Today we experience God's kindness as a present reality in both those senses. But God's kindness also includes a future hope. Ultimately, his purpose is not just to keep us alive here and now, his purpose is to rescue us from this world, clean us, free us completely from sin, and grant us a place in the kingdom of heaven. His kindness starts where we are now and extends into eternity. Let's look at a passage that speaks of this future hope. This is Ephesians chapter two, verses four through ten. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved, and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works that no one may boast, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Here again, Paul is talking about the mercy that God has shown us in Christ, and why did he do that? Notice 2.7, I'll read that again, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. There we have an explicit statement that part of the kindness of God is the great riches that he plans to pour out on us throughout eternity. Part of God's purpose in redeeming a people for himself is so that he might shower us with his kindness in his kingdom. Let's look at another passage about the kindness of God. This is Romans. Paul is speaking of how God accepted the Gentiles into His people, and He uses the metaphor of grafting branches onto a tree. In this analogy, I think the natural branches refer to the Jewish people, and the Gentiles are the wild branches. This is Romans 11, verses 17 through 22. But if some of the branches were cut off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others, and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in. That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith, so do not be proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God. Severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness, otherwise you too will be cut off. These are very sobering words. Paul is talking to Gentile believers. He's talking about the fact that by and large the Jewish people, who are the chosen people of God, have not accepted the truth of Jesus as the Messiah. And by and large, the church has been made up of mostly Gentiles or non-Jews. The Gentiles didn't even know about the Messiah before Jesus came. They didn't have the Old Testament prophecies or predictions. They didn't know what God was doing in history. And yet, when the Messiah came, God opened their eyes and they believed. Paul describes that with this metaphor of the olive tree. He pictures an olive tree where the owner comes along and he breaks off some of the natural branches and he grafts in some branches from a wild tree onto his tree. And in the metaphor, the tree stands for God's people. It starts with the Jews, and yet God comes along and breaks off some of their branches because of their unbelief, and he grafts in the Gentiles who are wild and to this point did not know him. And this breaking and grafting shows both the severity of God's judgment and his kindness. He strictly judges those who reject him, he judges those who turn away from him in unbelief, but he shows great kindness toward those who persevere in faith. God is kind, but he is not a pushover. God is not like Santa Claus or some big sugar daddy in the sky. All of humanity has a very serious problem with sin, and God has said he will judge sin, and his judgment will be just and fair. Some of us will get what we all deserve, but by his grace, some of us are not going to get what we deserve. God will be kind instead and show us mercy. Not because of anything we have done, but because of the cross of Christ. When we're talking about the kindness of God, we're talking about the God who is holy and righteous and good in every way. He reaches out to people who are not holy and righteous and good. He overlooks that fact and he rescues them into holiness and righteous and goodness forever. And that is a great and tremendous, wonderful act of kindness that we did not deserve. Now, when it comes to the fruit of the Spirit, it's not hard to see how this same logic applies. The Spirit teaches us to treat each other as God has treated us. And we find that theme over and over in Scripture. Jesus puts it very explicitly in Luke 6.35. But love your enemies and do good and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. So here Jesus says, God is kind to people who are ungrateful and who hate him. He talks about how God will send rain on both those who love him and those who hate him. God delays his judgment so that we rebellious creatures might have time to repent and believe. God is merciful to the world every day. The fact that the sun comes up and life goes on is an act of his kindness. Considering how guilty we are and how corrupt the world is, every moment he postpones his judgment is an act of kindness. And he does more than postpone judgment. He keeps the world running, he gives us an awful lot of good gifts in this world. He blesses us with shelter, food, rain, sunshine, friends, family, and all manner of goodness. We can see that God's kindness is active. It is expressed in how he treats us. If we're to be like him, then we are to learn to take the same attitude, seeking the good of others, even those who mock us, scoff us, and reject us. As I said, this idea that we're learning to be like God is a big theme in the Bible, but it all comes down to whether or not we believe a few foundational truths. Do we understand what God has done for us? Do we understand what is so amazing about grace? And do we live our lives as if the gospel is true? Understanding the answers to those questions is the foundation for kindness. Let's move on to another passage. This is in Luke 7. At one point Jesus was dining in the home of a Pharisee. Suddenly a repentant prostitute entered and anointed his feet with oil and wiped his feet with her tears. The Pharisee complains about this action, and Jesus responds like this. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner. And Jesus answering said to him, Simon, I have something to say to you, and he answered, Say it, teacher. A certain money lender had two debtors, one owed five hundred denarii and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more? Simon answered, The one I suppose for whom he cancelled the larger debt, and he said to him, You have judged rightly. Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, Do you see this woman? I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much, but he who is forgiven little loves little. I think the point here is rather straightforward. The one with the greater debt is more grateful. The more we understand our situation before God, the more we love him, and then the more we show that love to others. The Pharisees, for all their piety, were not grateful to God. They didn't see themselves as needing forgiveness. They thought they had earned God's favor through law keeping. But someone like the harlot is very aware of her sins. Her sins are obvious. She knows how much she needs to be forgiven and she knows the value of what she has received, so she responds with love and gratitude. Now, of course, the Pharisee needs forgiveness just as much as she does, but he doesn't know it. Kindness as a fruit of the Spirit is a result of that perspective change. When we come to understand the magnitude of the kindness that God has shown us, when we realize the value of that kindness and what a huge deal it is, then we want to show that same kindness toward others. The fruit or the change comes about from understanding. Like the harlot who wiped at Jesus' feet, when we understand what God has done for us, it changes us. It changes our perspective on who we are, how we treat God, and how we treat others. Once I understand how deep the debt is that I have been forgiven, how could I dare ask God to throw the book at someone else? Once I realize how much mercy I have been shown and how little I deserved it, how can I excuse treating someone else harshly and demanding that they get justice? Now there's both a negative and a positive aspect. To this idea of kindness, there's a here's what we ought to do, and here's what we ought not do. And Paul captures both of them in 1 Thessalonians 5:15. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. So here's the don't do this, but do that. On the one hand, I'm not striking back. That's the thing I'm not doing. I'm not repaying anyone evil for evil, but there's a positive emphasis, I am to do good to everyone. So I refrain from one kind of action and I decide to take a different kind of action. And kindness is more than not striking back. Kindness goes and takes that next step of actively doing good for someone. As the Bible describes it, kindness can be costly. And that's not true of the kind of kindness we see in the world. Suppose the kids in the neighborhood know that Sally's mom always gives them cookies when they come over to play. Or suppose a family shovels the snow off the driveway of the widow next door. There's nothing wrong with that. Those are acts of kindness. We all tend to be kind and generous to people who treat us well. Most people want to be nice to nice people. It's relatively easy to be kind when kindness is rewarding. Sally's mom may feel good about giving the kids cookies. It makes her feel happy. It makes her feel proud of herself. The family that shoveled the snow off the widow's driveway, they feel satisfied with themselves. They think they did a good thing, a lesson for their kids, and something to be proud of. But the Bible calls us to be kind when there is no obvious reward. God reaches out to sinners who continue to reject him. He reaches out to those from whom he gets no response. God's kindness is a costly kindness. Now, obviously, it's costly when we're talking about the really hard stuff like loving your enemies or being kind to those who hate you. But I think there are many examples of where kindness costs us in small ways. Kindness can be inconvenient. Kindness may be emotionally draining. Kindness can take so much time that we don't get to do something else we would enjoy doing. Or maybe we do something kind and no one notices. Or maybe we do something kind and they act as if that's what we should have done. They deserve it. Or worse, maybe they accept our kindness and then turn around and mock us or make fun of us for being so nice. Kindness as a fruit of the spirit is more than being nice. Kindness as a fruit of the spirit is being kind and being willing to pay the price for it. Kindness is willing to respond graciously and compassionately, even when it's tough and even when we don't want to do it. Because kindness as a fruit of the spirit is grounded on the fact that God has been kind to us. I think part of the reason we find kindness difficult is because we still wrestle with recognizing the depths of God's kindness to us. There is a very deep connection between becoming a compassionate person and understanding God's compassion toward me. The more I understand how great God's compassion is and how graciously He acted toward me, the more I understand the value of kindness as I'm dealing with other people. I recognize that it's fairly easy for the truths of the gospel to be somewhat theoretical. We can think of them as these abstract theological concepts. Yet every single one of the writers of the New Testament says understanding these truths changes your life. Embracing the truth of the gospel transforms the way you think, the way you speak, the way you act, and the way you live. But this transformation is not immediate. The Spirit just doesn't zap kindness into us. We learn to be kind over time. As the Spirit works on us, as we increasingly understand the gospel, the truth of the gospel moves from this theoretical knowledge to the basis upon which I choose how to act. These truths become foundational principles for the way I live my life. I know they are true, and so I live like it. In the midst of life's difficulties, I recognize the promises of God matter. God has promised to rescue us from sin because of the cross. Heaven is real and Jesus has explained how to get in. I know that is true, and that changes how I try to respond in any situation. And daily life is going to present us with thousands of situations where we have to wrestle with whether God's kindness really means something to us and what kind of people we want to be. I don't know how to bring this truth home or make it move out of the theoretical for you. Ultimately, I think only the Spirit of God can do that. But I'm convinced that when you turn off this podcast, you're going to go out and live out the plan God has for you. And that plan is going to force you to bump into reality. You will have to decide how to act when someone hurts your feelings. You'll have to decide what to do if if your spouse leaves the dishes in the sink again. You'll have to decide whether to cooperate or compete with your coworkers. You'll have to decide how to respond to an unfair boss or an annoying neighbor or the frustrating person in the car in front of you who is driving too slow. It may not seem like it, but all of those situations force you to confront the question, what do I believe to be true? Whatever else you think you're going to do this week, you're going to wrestle with the question of your personal destiny. All those situations are going to force you to ask, what do I think is true about my life? Who is Jesus and what did he do for me? What will God say to me on judgment day? Do I really understand the kindness of God and his grace and his mercy? Or is that just theology that I checked off on a theological test? Everyone has to answer these questions for themselves. No one can do it for us. But the amazing good news is if you're a believer, the spirit is at work in you right now to teach you the truth. The spirit is at work to teach you the right answers to those questions. And you may fail in any given situation, but the spirit is still going to use that to mature your faith and grow you into the kind of person who really understands the truths of the gospel and learns to act in kindness. One of the truths the spirit is teaching us is the magnitude of God's kindness toward us. Suppose you fall into debt and your brother gives you $1,000 to tide you over. That action would change how you treat your brother. The next time he needs a favor, you would remember his kindness and try to help him if you could. Now, all of us understand that situation. Of course, sometimes we still indulge in ungrateful behavior, but we have this sense of I should treat kindly those who have treated me kindly. Well, that same dynamic comes into play when we understand God's kindness toward us. Just like my brother's kindness changes my relationship to him, the more I understand God's kindness to me, the more I value kindness, the more I learn to see it as the right response. Just like I want to show kindness to you because you were kind to me, I want to show the kindness that God has showed me to others. The Bible usually doesn't tell us things like, be good, play nice, and get along with others. The Bible tells us to remember what is true. Remember you are a sinner in need of grace. Remember what Jesus did for you on the cross and remember the promises that God has given you. When I understand how kind God has been to me, then I understand why kindness makes so much sense. When I wrestle with how should I act in a specific situation, I am really wrestling with the question of how big is the gospel? How much does the gospel mean to me? Do I really believe what God says is true? And that kind of logic is on every page in the New Testament. In the context of Galatians 5, which is where we find this list of the fruit of the Spirit, Paul contrasts the fruit of the Spirit with the works of the flesh. The works of the flesh are things like enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envy. Notice all of those involve how we treat other people. The works of the flesh are the typical response of the self-righteous, legalistic, unredeemed person. These are the ways we would respond without the Spirit of God changing us. In Galatians 5, Paul argues that the fruit of the Spirit and the works of the flesh are at odds with each other. They are polar opposites. And what makes the difference? What we think is true. Ultimately, self-righteousness is a lie. If I'm self-righteous, I don't value the kindness of God because I think I earned it through all this law-keeping, or I think I earned it because I'm a basically good person. If I do my best and make a good faith, sincere effort to keep the law and obey middle class morality, then I consider myself basically good and worthy. And God's just giving me my due. He asked for obedience, I've given him obedience, and because I've given it, I'm getting what I deserve. In that worldview, I am not the object of God's gracious kindness. Rather, he and I have entered into this kind of legal contract. I kept the law, now he has to respond with kindness. Well, where does that leave you and me? Well, if I think I can keep the rules, then I think you can keep them too. So I have the right to judge and condemn you because you aren't keeping the law like I'm keeping the law. And all of that is based on the lie that I am somehow better than others. Self-righteousness is attractive in part because I can use others as a lever to raise myself up. Your failure to keep the law, like I keep the law, is a lever I can use to lift myself above you and say, hey, I look pretty good in comparison. If I'm using my contempt for you to feel superior, why would I ever treat you with kindness and compassion at the same time? Those two ideas just don't go together. Why would I want to help you out? I have a vested interest in making you look bad because it makes me look better. I could even disguise my contempt as kindness. I could persuade you that it's really kind of me to point out all your flaws and mistakes, because if I don't point them out, how are you going to get better? So isn't it kind of me to point out how messed up you are again? I could see myself as doing you a favor by treating you badly, by telling you how to keep the law like I keep the law. And if you start keeping the law like I do, then you and I can both look down at other people with contempt. So by judging you, hey, I'm actually being kind. And all of that is a lie. The self-righteous can be condescending, but they can't be kind in the way the Bible talks about. And it's all based on this lie of not recognizing who I am before God. All right, let's look at another passage. This is Ephesians 4, 31 and 32. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you along with malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you. Here in Ephesians, Paul pairs being kind with being tenderhearted and forgiving. We know how much God forgave us, so we forgive others. Instead of judging the flaws and the faults of other people, I recognize I have the same flaws and faults. I see other sinners as people just like me. I recognize how gracious God has been to me, and I have a certain compassion for other people because I know I'm a sinner too. I understand what it's like to be a selfish brat who hurts others because I'm a selfish brat too. But God has been kind and gracious to me. I have this great hope that God is rescuing me and changing me from being a foolish, selfish brat. And that gives me the freedom to be tender-hearted toward you, to be open to the idea that you and I have the same problem, and I would like you to find the same solution that I found. The quality of kindness we're talking about here has a lot to do with having a humility before God that allows me to feel compassionate towards other people. Part of the reason I wanted to emphasize that legalism and kindness are really at odds with each other is this last point I want to make. It seems to me that if you look around at Christians today in America, we don't have a reputation for being kind. If you were to go out and ask the average person on the street if they think that Christians are kind, I suspect an awful lot of people would laugh and say, oh, you've got to be kidding me. So that raises the question, how can kindness be a fruit of the spirit? And Christians seem to have so little of it. I want to talk about that for a minute. It's a complicated question because part of what the world charges Christians with is unjustified. Today, the very act of believing that someone else is wrong is considered an act of hostility. When I was a kid, tolerance meant that while I might disagree with what you have to say, I would vigorously defend your right to say it. I can be tolerant and disagree with you, but let you express yourself. But now tolerance has come to mean I must think all ideas are equally true and right. Claiming that someone is right and someone else is wrong is now seen as hateful, intolerant, and oppressive by definition. If you understand kindness to mean that we must approve of everything everyone says and does so that no one ever feels offended or uncomfortable, then Christians are unkind and they always will be. By that definition, Jesus was unkind. He was constantly correcting and rebuking people, even his disciples. Kindness is not a question of refraining from saying or do things that make other people feel uncomfortable. Jesus said things that made people feel uncomfortable all the time because we need to deal with the truth. To the extent that your friends, your family, your culture defines kindness as not offending anyone, then we must be unkind. We are called to tell the truth. We are not going to fit in when we tell the truth. We are going to be perceived as judgmental and unkind. But we can't back down and let the world around us define good and evil and right and wrong in a way that is just out of touch with reality. It's not good for them and it's not good for anyone. We are called to stand up for what is right, but speak in love with kindness. But part of the complaint against Christians, I think, is justified. As I said before, self-righteousness and kindness do not go together. Either I see myself as a wretched sinner in need of God's kindness, or I don't. And how I treat other people depends on how I see myself. If I see myself as a sinner like you, I will treat you kindly. If I see myself as better or superior in some way because I have my act together before God, then I am not going to treat you well. Biblical kindness results from the Spirit of God making it clear to me that I have a very, very, very serious problem with sin, but God has graciously and kindly solved it. My problem with sin and my guilt was so great, and the magnitude of God's kindness is so wonderful that it's mind-boggling. It changes my perspective on everything. It changes how I view my place before God. It changes how I view my place among my neighbors. We may speak out against evil and lies and stand up for what is truth, but we do it from this position of seeking the good of others, whether it costs us or not. We are called to remember the greatness of what God has done for us and show that same kindness toward others. Now it may be that the criticisms leveled against Christians are justified because we're legalists. We may think that we're better than those pagans out there and that God is pleased with us because we're following the rules. And because we approach others from that place of superiority, we are not being kind. And if that's the case, then we do need a hard dose of reality. It may be that the criticisms leveled against Christians are justified because we're not teaching the gospel clearly enough. It's easy to get caught up in wanting an emotional worship experience without any substance. It's easy to minimize talking about things like sin and guilt and hell and the cross and to over-emphasize God's love. It's easy to seek entertaining stories and a multimedia movie experience from the pulpit rather than gospel truth. And if that's the case, we need to return to a hard dose of the fire and brimstone gospel. Finally, it could be that God is not finished with us yet. As I said earlier, the Spirit just doesn't zap us into perfection. He changes us over a lifetime of wrestling with truth and trials and hardships. We may have failed to act kindly because we are still wretched sinners struggling with sin. We may be forgiven, but we will still struggle. And if that's the case, then we want to be quick to repent and apologize. Bottom line, kindness as a fruit of the Spirit is working to accomplish a good result for someone else despite their flaws, and regardless of whether or not they deserve it, and regardless of whether or not they appreciate it. It also encourages me to hear from you. Please leave me a positive rating on your favorite podcast platform or drop me an email. But most importantly, tell a friend what you learned and where you learned it. RC Music is graciously provided by my friend and favorite musician, Reggie Coates. You can find his music on heartfeltmusic.org. If you want to find out more and hear all the episodes in this series, please go to my website, Wednesdayintheword.com. You can find the blog post version of this podcast at WednesdayInTheWord.com slash fruit dash spirit dash kindness. Thank you for joining me today. I'm Krisan Marotta, and I'll see you next week at Wednesday in the Word.