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You Know How to be Kind

 "You know how to be kind."

Those words were spoken by a wise, older woman at a conference I recently went to. She was talking about evangelism and using our homes and meeting people... and her words struck me right in my offended heart. I wasn't offended by her, she was lovely, I was offended by someone else from the day before. 

The reality is that sometimes the people we meet and interact with will be nasty. We live in a nasty world. We live in a world full of people who only know sin; they grew up in sinful homes, were categized by sinful systems and education, and have only had relationships with people like them. Broken people. And broken people tend to let slip a little bit of nastiness every now and again. 

The bit of nastiness that got spilled on me the day before came from a coworker and it involved an emotional over-reaction and the f-word, which was a bit shocking. Anyway, to make a long story short, I walked away without saying anything and she later gave me a piece of her scone, which I think is her form of apologizing, and we moved on. Well, she moved on, and I was still a bit upset. 

The next day is when the Lord granted those wise words from that wise woman. She'll never know my name, but He does, and He knew what I needed. 

The fact of the matter is; I do know how to be kind. When the Lord puts me in situations that are less than pleasant and expects me to respond with grace and kindness He is not asking me to do something foreign. He is asking me to exercise a muscle which He has been training from childhood and will continue to strengthen throughout my whole life. Besides knowing how to be kind, He has also given me His Spirit to equip me to act in kindness when every part of my flesh just wants to retort something rude or spread a little gossip. 

Perhaps you too need this gentle reminder for your messy husband, annoying neighbour, or the difficult woman at church.  You know how to be kind. God is not asking something strange of you, and He will also help you. So, when we get into those situations where kindness is far from our desires, we say a prayer, grasp our Father's hand, and do what we know how to do. 

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