Happy Kindness Day! That’s right, it is official: today is kindness day.
Wednesday, November 13 is officially World Kindness day. But as the 143 day of the year, May 23rd is Kindness Day in the spirit of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood where 1=I, 4=Love, and 3=You!
1-4-3 day, or kindness day, is a day to intentionally focus on being good to our neighbors. And who is my neighbor? Anyone who needs mercy. You are a good neighbor when you show mercy. That’s what Jesus has to say about it in Luke 10:25-37.
Kindness makes a lot of lists in the Bible.
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…” Galatians 5:22-23
“Now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise.” 2 Corinthians 6:2-8
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:12-17
Micah reminds us that to love kindness and show mercy are evidences that we walk with God in humility. Titus says that the very appearing of Christ is evidence of God’s kindness. Job recalls God’s kindness to him in Job 10:12. The Psalmist and the prophets speak frequently of kindness as a divine attribute commended to God’s people as exemplars and conduits of His loving kindness to others. Why then is kindness so seemingly rare today?
It might be that we don’t trumpet kindness – we don’t tell on those who do good – and in failing to bear witness to the good, we allow the bad to flourish. Are we putting our light under a basket or are we setting them before the public – not in boasting, but so that others might see good works and glorify God in Heaven?
So what is kindness and how do cultivate kindness – in ourselves and in our kids? What does kindness look like, where have we seen it and how can we be agents of kindness contagion?
Those are the conversations I had with Joshua Straub, Shaunti Feldhahn and Nicole J. Phillips on Kindness day!