There is a mantra that is used on coasters, t-shirts, posters, and framed art that states, “In a world where you can be anything, be kind.” The statement emphasizes the important teaching of kindness. Robert Fulghum in his book Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, expresses the importance of the simple teaching of our early education that sets us up to be better citizens and understand the role kindness plays in our lives.
The wardrobe God has picked out for us includes kindness that goes beyond the simplicity of being nice to a deeper concern and action of living kindly toward other people and kindly toward ourselves. The power of self-deprecation and self-abasement steals our ability to show kindness to ourselves. We focus on our failures and weaknesses, allowing them to speak louder than our strengths and successes in our lives. We are unkind to ourselves when we see ourselves as unworthy of love and incapable of offering anything to the good of the community. In Fulghum’s book he lists some key things he learned in Kindergarten that are ways to be kind to ourselves: “We live a balanced life—learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.”
Likewise, we are invited to express kindness to other people as we look at their situation and witness their struggles and defeat. When we come alongside the person in kindness, we express our kindness in some of the key features of Fulghum’s book: “We share; We play fair; When we go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.”
God shows us kindness through His mercy, grace, and love. In Ephesians 2:7 Paul writes, “So God can point to us in all future ages as example of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.” God showed His kindness to us when He sent Jesus to provide a way for us to experience the fullness of eternal life. This same kindness is part of our wardrobe as we seek ways to show mercy, grace, and love to others and to ourselves.
As we live our lives following Jesus, we are putting on the wardrobe God picked out for us. In a world where kindness is not regularly broadcast and tearing down other people has become far too common, we want to show kindness to people and to ourselves. We want to be the light of kindness, love, and compassion that shines through the darkness of hate, discord, and division.
Prayer: Lord, our world needs more kindness. We need to be kind to ourselves, knowing you are doing a wonderful work in us. We need to be kind to those near to us. We need to show kindness to those who are unkind. You showed us your kindness in Jesus, and we want to show kindness through our daily adventure with you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.