Fruit of the Spirit: KINDNESS

on June 15, 2015 Dylan Roof entered the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston South Carolina and murdered nine people gathered there for a Bible study. While hate crimes against the black community are nothing new, this event demonstrated a striking scene. Instead of protests which result in destruction of property and looting, the families of the victims gathered in in the courtroom for Dylan Roof’s arraignment hearing and each issued statements of forgiveness. Instead of responding with destruction and looting, they responded with love and mercy. Dylan Roof was set to receive the death penalty in South Carolina for his crime. Instead he received a sentence of life in prison without parole.

There was significant reaction to that shooting which occurred on June 15, 2015. The black community in Charleston responded with words of mercy and forgiveness instead of words of vengeance and retribution. South Carolina took notice. Five days later on June 20, 2015 the South Carolina legislature voted to finally remove the Confederate battle flag from outside the South Carolina state courthouse. It sparked a movement throughout the South to remove statues and other symbols from state property. The voices of those who suffer under racial injustice were heard. They were voices of mercy and forgiveness and healing. And people responded to that message. I wonder what those people gathered for Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church were reading that day. I wonder if it might have been a passage like this from Luke 6.

Luke 6:27–36 NIV

27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Defining Kindness

kindness as it is presented here in the Bible is not the same as being nice

This week we are up to the spiritual fruit of kindness. I am not sure what comes to mind for everyone here when you think about being kind. I suppose there may be many answers in the room; and those answers may not all be the same. So, one of our tasks here today is to narrow down what we mean by kindness when it is mentioned here in the Bible as a spiritual fruit. Let me start by tossing out what kindness is not. Kindness as it is presented here in the Bible is not the same as being nice. Being a kind person—according to scripture—is not the same as being a nice person. What do we mean by being nice? Being cordial, agreeable, pleasant—those things count as being nice. That’s not the same as being kind. There seems to be plenty of instances in the gospels in which Jesus was not cordial or agreeable or pleasant with those around him. But Jesus certainly is kind.

And by the way, before you go a step too far and start to think that tossing ‘niceness’ off the list is somehow permission to be rude or mean, come back in a few weeks when we talk about the spiritual fruit of gentleness. For today, however, we will take a closer look at the unique biblical call for followers of Jesus to express kindness. And it is not at all the same thing as being a nice person; kindness is something different.

O.T. hesed = loving kindness

In the Old Testament there are certain English translations of the Bible which use the word kindness often. It is the word that is sometimes chosen as an expression for the Hebrew word hesed. It refers to the type of love that God has—hesed often refers to God in the Old Testament. Often English translations phrase it as ‘loving kindness.’ In context of Old Testament passages, this kindness is most often a combination of two very particular qualities of God’s love: mercy and compassion. When we read about kindness here in the Bible, those two things are what should immediately come to mind: mercy and compassion. Nothing else summarizes and exemplifies the spiritual fruit of kindness like the combination of mercy and compassion. I would argue it is the reason why mercy and compassion are not listed separately and named in Galatians 5 as being fruit of the spirit. Not because mercy and compassion somehow fall short of being spiritual fruit, but because both mercy and compassion are toed together in this one fruit of kindness. Here is what I am saying, then; we cannot talk about the spiritual fruit of kindness unless we understand what is meant by mercy and compassion.

Mercy

Mercy — showing love by not giving someone the consequences they deserve

It may seem as though mercy and compassion are just two interchangeable words that both mean the same thing. While mercy and compassion are similar, there is a distinguishable difference for us to call out. Let’s start with mercy. Mercy is the act of showing love by not giving someone what they deserve.

Let’s be clear. Mercy is an act of love. Withholding what is deserved is not always an act of love. If you hire an employee and arrange to pay certain wages, and then withhold payment on payday; while that is an example of withholding something that is deserved, it is not mercy because it is not an act of love. It’s just cheating. But consider this: if somebody were to back into my car in the parking lot while pulling out and put a big dent in the side of my car, even if it was done carelessly and they are obviously at fault because they were not paying attention or being safe, I would have the right to file a report and have the other person pay for the damage to my car. I was not at fault, and the other person deserves to pay the consequences for the accident. But instead, I choose to let it go. Even though the other person deserves to pay for the damage, I will not give them the consequences they deserve. That’s mercy. Whenever a guilty criminal who has been convicted of wrongdoing shows repentance and pleads before a judge, and the judge shows restraint and hands down a lesser punishment; that’s mercy. Whenever punishment or negative consequences are deserved, but because of love those consequences are held back; that’s mercy.

we deserve the consequences for our sin and brokenness — God shows mercy instead

Mercy is what we have received from God. In fact, Jesus says exactly that in today’s passage from Luke 6. We are all people who sin and fall short of God’s perfect expectations for his created world. We are all people who deserve the consequences for our sin and brokenness. But God has chosen to not give us what we deserve. God shows mercy instead. We cannot understand the way mercy is intertwined with the spiritual fruit of kindness unless we first understand that we are people who have received mercy from God.

Compassion

compassion — showing love by giving someone blessings they do not deserve

Compassion is very similar to mercy, but approaches the expression of love from the other end. If mercy is an expression of love in which we do NOT receive what is deserved, then compassion is an expression of love in which we do receive what is NOT deserved. Mercy is withholding the consequences that are deserved. Compassion is giving out the blessings that are not deserved, that have not been earned. Compassion is what drives the expression of love which takes shape in our food pantry here at this church every week when it is open. People come here to the food pantry because they are hungry and do not have the means at the moment to get the food they need. They do not pay us for the food we give, they do not have to do work here or provide some benefit for us in exchange for receiving food. They do not earn it. We give food to the hungry as an act of compassion. It is an expression of love which gives blessings that are not earned or deserved. There are no strings attached. There is no need for repayment. There is not a favor owed.

we receive the benefits of God’s blessings even though there is nothing we can ever do to earn or deserve God’s favor

kindness comes in the combination of these two things together—mercy and compassion

And just like we see with mercy, compassion is also an expression of love that we have received from God. We know what the spiritual fruit of kindness looks like because we are people who have experienced receiving compassion from God. We receive the benefits of God’s blessings even though there is nothing we can ever do to earn or deserve God’s favor. Let’s be clear; God does not owe us anything. But God chooses to give his blessing to people who do not deserve it; that’s compassion. Kindness comes in the combination of these two things together—mercy and compassion. God does both of them. God does not repay us according to our sins—we do not receive the punishment we deserve (mercy). And God overflows his blessings by placing upon us the righteousness of Christ, even though there is nothing at all we do to earn it or deserve it (compassion).

splanchnon — inward pity | chrastotes — outward compassion | charis — grace

one is the thing being given and the other is the action of giving it

The Greek language of the New Testament uses two words in reference to compassion. One word is splanchnon which is compassion as an inner feeling—perhaps best described as the feeling of pity. The other word is chrastotes which is the outward act of compassion which comes from the inner feeling of compassion. It is this second Greek word which is also often translated in our English Bibles as kindness. And it is also this Greek word chrastotes which comes from the Greek root word charis—translated into English as grace. One is the noun and the other is the verb. One is the thing being given and the other is the action of giving it. In this case, grace is the thing that is given and kindness is the action which gives it. Or think of it this way: grace is the package being delivered, and kindness is the Amazon truck by which it is delivered. Or simply put another way, without God’s mercy and God’s compassion, there would be no grace.

What Kindness Looks Like

Alright, that’s enough time defining the terms and getting the definitions right. In some sense, that is all background information because today’s passage from Luke 6 is not about defining the terms and explaining the concepts of mercy and compassion. What Jesus is talking about in Luke 6 is the application of mercy and compassion as a spiritual fruit in the church. This passage is entirely about description of kindness—here’s what it looks like when it shows up as action in your life.

four particular actions: love (enemies), do good (to those who hate), bless (those who curse), pray (for those who mistreat)

an expression of kindness that echos God’s expression of kindness

Look at the way Jesus unpacks this spiritual fruit of kindness in ways that demonstrate God’s own expression of this fruit. Follow with me through the passage. It starts off with the naming of four particular actions: love, do good, bless, and pray. But look at the recipients of these actions. Love enemies, do good to those who hate, bless those who curse, pray for those who mistreat. Now that raises the bar to a new level. Tucked between the lines here we can now see how Jesus is showing the difference between being merciful/compassionate and being nice. Sure, doing all these things for people you like—for people who love you back—that’s just behaving nicely. But to do these things for those who in no way deserve it, that’s an expression of kindness that echos God’s expression of kindness.

verse 29 examples — if someone hits you, let them hit you again; if someone takes your coat, give up your shirt as well

Verses 29-30 provide examples. If someone hits you, let them hit you again. If someone takes your coat, give up your shirt as well. These may seem like odd examples for us in our day since they are applications that apply to a different culture in a different time. It means that we have the work of bringing these examples to life in our own culture and our own time. What do these things look like today?

First, let’s analyze the dynamics behind the action because that will help us name a particular feature of mercy and compassion with which we struggle. It will help name for us the reason why we might find it so hard to actually embrace this particular spiritual fruit of kindness.

vulnerability

kindness means I allow myself to be vulnerable

First, kindness embraces vulnerability. When you get hit, let yourself get hit again. When your coat is taken, let go of your shirt too. Look at the feature. Kindness means we allow ourselves to be vulnerable. Jesus allowed himself to become vulnerable in order to show his loving kindness to us. To turn the other cheek means that we are left exposed. To give up your shirt as well as your coat means that we are left exposed. Kindness means we allow ourselves to be vulnerable.

we leave ourselves up to being taken advantage of

Let’s put this into practice so that we get a better sense of what this vulnerability looks like. In our sinful and broken world, this is what vulnerable kindness means: it means we leave ourselves up to being taken advantage of. That’s always the struggle with this type of kindness that leaves us feeling a bit uneasy. What do we do about those who take advantage of our mercy and compassion?

Back in 2020 when in-person activities were not taking place in this building, we were operating a drive-thru food pantry to meet the extra need in our community. One of the items we included for those who needed it was diapers. Diapers can be expensive, and for those who were suddenly laid off from work in 2020 and had a small child, diapers became a necessity which we were able to supply. We did our best to keep track of those who come through our pantry—especially those who would return on a regular basis. There was a particular woman who came through every week and requested diapers. After several weeks of this, one of our pantry volunteers noted her name on our intake forms, did some quick internet searching, and discovered that this woman was selling diapers on Facebook marketplace—undoubtedly the diapers she was picking up for free from our pantry and who knows where else.

these examples from Jesus acknowledge for us that there will always be people who take advantage of our generosity

We were able to address that situation and made sure she was no longer able to receive diapers from our pantry. But it raises the issue that comes along with being people of kindness. Do we stop providing this ministry of mercy and compassion just because there was someone out there who took advantage of our generosity? After all, there will always be people who seek to take advantage of those who show mercy and compassion. I think these examples from Jesus acknowledge for us that there will always be people who take advantage of our generosity. But the conclusion that Jesus gives is an instruction: be okay living with the vulnerability; do not let those who take advantage of our kindness be something which stops us from being people of kindness.

Losing on Purpose

kindness means I allow myself to lose on purpose

Jesus himself gained nothing from the cross — everything about the cross was Jesus losing on purpose so that we—the sinners who do not deserve it—could be the ones who benefit

Here is the second feature we see in the kindness of Jesus. Look at just how much God was willing to let go of and lose in order for his mercy and compassion to become our benefit. By all earthly measures, being executed on a cross is not a way to win. And think about this, even though we talk about the resurrection of Jesus as a victory, what did it win for Jesus which he did not already have? Nothing. Jesus himself gained nothing from the cross. Everything about the cross was Jesus losing on purpose so that we—the sinners who do not deserve it—could be the ones who benefit.

For those of you who are parents, did you ever have it when your kids were young that you would lose a game to them on purpose so that they could win? In my case, I am not that particularly good at sports or board games, so it did not take much for me to lose—often it was not on purpose. But sometimes parents do this—lose on purpose so that the kids can win. I’ve got nothing to gain out of it myself except seeing the joy of a loved one given the benefit.

being merciful and compassionate means I am okay with not having to be the winner

The spiritual fruit of kindness which shows up in mercy and compassion is not afraid to lose on purpose. Being merciful and compassionate means I am okay saying that I am not the one who needs to be the winner. Now then, that’s all well and good when it is about setting my kid up to make a triple jump in checkers and walk away with all the kings. But let’s be perfectly honest, it’s a bit more of a struggle when it comes to losing on purpose to those I might see as enemies. And yet, this is exactly the thing which Jesus points out in Luke 6 as the most distinguishing feature of kindness. The apostle Paul says it this way:

Romans 5:6–8 NIV

6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

we are people who have first received the greatest possible mercy and compassion from our God who is eternally loving and kind

There is only one reason we can bear this spiritual fruit; only one reason that we can be people of mercy and compassion. It is because we are people who have first received the greatest possible mercy and compassion from our God who is eternally loving and kind.