Kindness Is Important
At Gettysburg, where Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s army was defeated, Lee went by a wounded Union soldier who triumphantly shouted to Lee about the Northern victory. Lee dismounted, extended his hand to the man, and said he hoped he would soon be well. The soldier cried over Lee’s kindness. Similarly, in the bitter winter of 1775-1776, when American soldiers were eating their food raw because there was no wood with which to cook or get warm, General Nathanael Green ordered sentries to be relieved every hour instead of every two hours so they wouldn’t suffer too much from the bitter cold. Both of these were acts of kindness and gentle compassion.
Do we treat others with gentleness and kindness? We should because both are a fruit, or result, of being influenced by God’s Spirit (Gal 5:22-23). Are we frequently hard on others through such things as over-correction, provoking them to anger, or exasperating them? We are told not to be that way (Eph 6:4, CEV with Phillips, CEB, and Moffatt). How natural it would have been for Lee to focus on his own pain and disappointment at Gettysburg. Yet, he was able to look past someone’s expression of defiance, past his own suffering, to recognize and tend to the suffering of that individual. Such kindness is so generous and so unexpected that it can profoundly affect others. It is an expression of God’s love which is well-mannered, unselfish, and not irritable (1 Cor 13:5, TEV with Phillips).
To display such kindness, we must have the compassion and empathy to put ourselves in someone else’s position. We imagine the bitter cold of the wind on a sentry because we are focused on serving them (Phil 2:4). Thus, we are able to know how much hardship a sentry would be spared by being relieved after just one hour. We think of how our words and actions might affect others and try to spare them unnecessary discomfort or embarrassment. In short, we look for ways to display the kindness of love that someone would appreciate at that moment.
Opportunities to be kind are precious. Our kindness can make a big difference in the lives of those who receive it. Besides, being kind will change us into more of the type of human being our Lord wants us to be.
Comforting others is costly but worth it.