There Is No Law Against Kindness

Galatians 5:22–23 NIV84

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Titus 3:1–7 NIV84

Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men. At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

This is the Word of the Lord: Thanks be to God

There Is No Law Against...

Is anyone else glad that Pastor Lynne emphasized that “There is no law against …” the Fruit of the Spirit?

The very first thing Paul writes in Galatians 5 is that, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free...”

If you’re like me, you may not always see the Fruit of the Spirit as a freedom.

For example...

How many of us immediately think about our freedom to protect fellow citizens when we see a speed limit sign?

Anyone else here more immediately concerned about getting a ticket or losing your license? Maybe even wonder how fast you can go and get away with it?

Or how about this...Do you enjoy the freedom of a peaceful disposition in the middle of a disagreement?

Do you enjoy the freedom of kindness when your team loses to the team your trash talking friend was cheering for?

For many of us, the Fruit of the Spirit has a way of move toward the “have to”side instead of the “get to” side.

Today’s we are looking at the fifth fruit, kindness, and perhaps we will see by the end how to think of kindness as a freedom rather than a “have to.”

Kindness of God

Titus 3:4–6 (NIV84)

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior...

The Greek word for kindness in both passages today is, chrestotes...

The Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament defines this sort of kindness as “providing something beneficial for someone.”

It’s characterized by goodness of heart, charitableness, friendliness.

As we do today, the early church looked to Jesus for the pinnacle of all kindness.

They sometimes referred to kindness as being appropriate to God.

In other words, we know that Jesus is of God because he reflects the extent to which God is kind.

Examples of Jesus Kindness

Have you ever noticed how Jesus; kindness pushed back against unkindness?

For example, Peter asked Jesus in Matthew 18:21, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”

You know what Peter is asking here, right?

Jesus, when can I STOP forgiving this person?

Remember how Jesus responds?

Was it, “Seven times sounds about right to me, Peter! You really have to be careful with kindness, forgiveness, and validation. Give it too much and people will take advantage?”

No, Jesus responds, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

Who wants to keep that sort of tally?

It seems like saying that the law of love frees us to stop keeping score altogether.

Sabbath Keeping

Or how about this one?

In Luke 14:1-5 we read...

Luke 14:1–5 (NIV84)

One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. There in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away. Then he asked them, “If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?”

If God created the Sabbath, and if God even kept that Sabbath in the Book of Genesis, then Sabbath rest must be good thing for us.

Is it so great, though, if adherence to the letter of the Sabbath law, keeps us from loving our neighbor?

Probably not

Problem Is Not The Law

The problem here, is that we all tend to get a little confused.

The law was designed to reflect the love of God, but we tend to see laws as things that keep us safe from punishment, or consequence.

As a result, we might be tempted to create laws upon laws that have nothing to do with love.

Peter is willing to forgive seven times, but wants to know when he can stop loving this seemingly unrepentant brother...

The Pharisees aren’t too sure about how god is going to think about them if they break the letter of the Sabbath law, even if the spirit of the Sabbath is kept.

The truth, is that the law

Kindness Toward Us

The truth is that God’s love is immeasurably, eternally, unwaveringly, lovingly kind.

No law could or should be thought of as a shackle that reduces the ever expansive love of God.

God’s love is kind beyond beyond anything we can imagine, and that kindness is demonstrated throughout Scripture.

How kind is Jesus when he prays...

Luke 23:34 (NIV84)

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

The loving kindness of Jesus did not even wait on a kind disposition from his executioners.

There was no repentance, no sinner’s prayer...

The radical nature of Jesus’ forgiveness is that he did not need the response of the crowd to show kindness to the crowd.

He embodied kindness, giving to them what they didn’t yet know they needed…Forgiveness.

If that’s true for the crowd, it’s true for you and me.

God isn’t kind only loving and kind when we get it right.

He is kind even when we get it wrong…Sometimes WAAAAAAY wrong!

This is why Jesus so consistently reached out to people who were excluded.

It wasn’t because they weren’t sinners. It was because they were sinners, just like us, and knew that they needed forgiveness and kindness, just like us.

Reality vs Fiction

Anyone who has worked with impoverished people knows this is true.

I pastored Corydon United Methodist Church in Corydon, IN from 2011-2014…a truly fantastic experience in an amazing and loving congregation.

Within that region there was a lot of poverty, and the church consistently received requests for financial help.

Within two weeks I received two requests that were met but were not used in ways that they were supposed to be used.

I was really angry.

These weren’t the romantic poor reflected in that 1883 Emma Lazarus sonnet, The New Colossus...

You may be familiar with the lines, “Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free...”

Well let me tell you, kindness was the last thing from my mind!

I’d been conned when I’d tried to be kind!

A couple weeks later I was driving to Illinois with my sons and we stopped at a gas station.

Outside the station was a homeless man and Ethan asked if we could give him a few dollars.

I’m guessing you know my response...

Well of course, dear child...That man too is loved by our Heavenly Father. Who am I to withhold the bounteous provision that God has blessed us with?

Nope...My response was a curt “no,” a comment about thievery, and I drove off.

Long story short, through heartfelt pleas and perhaps a few tears, I turned around 15 miles down the road to give this guy a little money not out of kindness, but out of a guilty conscious!

Here’s what I learned from that experience...

God calls on us to be kind to real sinners no matter who they are.

Kind to All…Even Me

The key is seeing ourselves and others as we really are.

In the first three chapters of Romans, Paul chastises the church for its hypocrisy...

They were self righteously shunneing other people even as they were doing those very things!

In the rush to judge others, the in-crowd had forgotten the kindness God showed them despite their sin.

In Romans 3 he reminds them...

Romans 3:23–25 (NIV84)

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

It sounds sort of like the passage we started with today...

Titus 3:4–5 NIV84

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

Because of His mercy...

God isn’t merciful and kind because we deserve it.

He is merciful and kind because that is His nature.

How kind?

Romans 8:38–39 NIV84

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What can separate us from the love and kindness of God?

Nothing...

Martin Luther once said that God’s love, mercy, and kindness are for real sinners, not the imaginary sinners we pretend to be.

God calls a thing what it is in our lives and is loving and kind anyway.

Kindness Toward Others

The great thing is that when you claim God’s kindness you’re prepared to be kind toward others.

You get to stop the self righteous “Your sins are bigger than my sins” game.

Are you all familiar with that game?

It’s the one where we see the shortcomings and failures of other people, but we don’t see ours own.

When we sit in the kindness of God, we are prepared to be kind in two ways.

Seeking Forgiveness

Firstly, it means asking for forgiveness when we are unkind to others.

Remember that chrestote kindness provides something of benefit for someone?

One of the most truthful, powerful, and empathetic gifts you can give to another person are words that go something like...

“If I were you I would probably be hurt and I’m sorry. Will you forgive me?”

No justifications or explanations. Just a sincere apology because it is deserved.

Words like that bridge all contexts…Home, work, church...

A genuine apology often has a way of healing a relationship.

Jesus thought this so important that he states...

Matthew 5:23–24 NIV84

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

Our fear is usually how the other person will respond.

What if forgiveness is not given?

Even in that scenario we can take comfort in knowing that we are loved and forgiven by God.

If our kindness is not met with kindness, we can take comfort in knowing that God is still kind toward us.

Offering Forgiveness

Secondly, when we receive the kindness of God, we are prepared to forgive them.

Some offenses are more difficult to forgive than others.

Forgiveness does not minimize the offense that was commited.

It instead refuses to allow bitterness of the offense to have reign and rule.

Forgiveness also does not remain in abuse.

It flees the abuse and forgives despite the worthiness of the other person.

Just as Jesus had a Spirit of loving and merciful kindness, we develop a whole person disposition of the same.

How easy it is to exercise forgiveness and kindness for small offenses and kind people.

How difficult with people who have deeply hurt us, or who remain unkind.

I will close with a story from the life of Corrie ten Boom, whose family was placed in Ravensbruck concentration camp for hiding Jews during World War II.

She watched her sister Betsie die just prior to the liberation.

In Guideposts she wrote of an encounter in 1947 after preaching a sermon about forgiveness...

And that’s when I saw him, working his way forward against the others. One moment I saw the overcoat and the brown hat; the next, a blue uniform and a visored cap with its skull and crossbones...this man had been a guard at Ravensbrück concentration camp where we were sent.

Now he was in front of me, hand thrust out: “A fine message, fräulein! How good it is to know that, as you say, all our sins are at the bottom of the sea!”...“You mentioned Ravensbrück in your talk,” he was saying. “I was a guard in there.” No, he did not remember me.

“But since that time,” he went on, “I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Fräulein”–again the hand came out–“will you forgive me?”...And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion–I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.

“Jesus, help me!” I prayed silently. “I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling.”...And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.

“I forgive you, brother!” I cried. “With all my heart!” For a long moment we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God’s love so intensely as I did then.

And having thus learned to forgive in this hardest of situations, I never again had difficulty in forgiving: I wish I could say it! I wish I could say that merciful and charitable thoughts just naturally flowed from me from then on. But they didn’t. If there’s one thing I’ve learned at 80 years of age, it’s that I can’t store up good feelings and behavior–but only draw them fresh from God each day.

- https://www.guideposts.org/better-living/positive-living/guideposts-classics-corrie-ten-boom-forgiveness

Is there anyone in your life who needs you to be the kindness of God?

Perhaps you hurt them and the kindness you show comes through a request for forgiveness.

Perhaps they have hurt you and require your forgiveness.

Perhaps you are in perpetual cycles of unkindness with a person or some people in your life.

The grace of Jesus Christ, who lived, died, and was resurrected is both our power and our example.

As people who have been given much kindness, we have much kindness to give.

Against such kindness there is no law.

You are free to be kind...lavishly kind.

Enjoy and share the peace of that freedom today and every day.

Amen.