Ephesians 4:30-32: And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
In this passage Paul instructs the church at Ephesus, first of all, to not grieve the Holy Spirit. A believer grieves the Holy Spirit when he does not walk in the light of the revelation of the Word. For instance last week we examined verse 29 about the proper use of words. If you use your words in an unwholesome or sinful manner, that grieves the Holy Spirit. When you walk in the darkness of bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander and malice, which is mentioned in verse 31, then you grieve the Holy Spirit. When you fail to be kind and compassionate to others, and when you refuse to forgive others as God in Christ as forgiven you, then you grieve the Holy Spirit. Also, when the Holy Spirit prompts you or directs you to perform certains acts of obedience, and you ignore him, then you grieve the Holy Spirit.
Certainly, the believer should also choose to obey the Holy Spirit, and the key verse of focus for this week is the first part of verse 32, Be kind and compassionate to one another. A believer should always be kind or gracious to others, in particular to other believers.
Here are several Scriptural references to kindness in the book of Proverbs. It is the wisdom of God to always act in kindness.
Proverbs 11:17. A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings trouble on himself.
Proverbs 12:25. An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.
Proverbs 14:21. He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who is kind to the needy. And then verse 31 says, He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.
Proverbs 19:17. He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done.
It is always to your benefit to obey God's word, and the Scripture verse above confirms that a kind man will benefit himself. Meanwhile, a cruel man brings trouble on himself. A man will always reap what he has sown. Kindness demonstrated to the needy or poor will put a man in the position to be blessed and rewarded by God. Kindness to the poor also honors God.
In Luke 6:35 Jesus instructs his disciples to love their enemies, and to lend to them without expecting anything in return. Jesus explained that the reward would be great for these acts of kindness. Godly kindness in obedience to Jesus causes believers to be known as sons of the Most High. The verse ends with Jesus stating that the Most High is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
What does it mean to be kind? Dictionary.com has the following definitions of the word:
1. Of a friendly, generous, or warm-hearted nature.
2. Showing sympathy or understanding.
3. Charitable: a kind word.
4. Humane; considerate: kind to animals.
5. Forbearing; tolerant: Our neighbor was very kind about the window we broke.
6. Generous; liberal: kind words of praise.
The Greek word used in the New Testament for kind or kindness has the basic sense of "excellent, serviceable, useful, adapted to its purpose." God is kind to us in a way which demonstrates excellence. He is kind to us in a way which is useful to us, and his kindness always fits into his purpose. So, we should be kind to others with an attitude of excellence. Our acts of kindness to others should be useful, and these acts should fit into God's purpose. It is always God's purpose to bless others, so it should always be our purpose to bless others.
I particularly like the aspect of this word which speaks of being gracious. Be kind to one another, or be gracious to one another. In my thinking a gracious person rises above the petty conflicts of this life and acts in a gracious manner to do the right thing.
Ellen, our pastor's wife, is such a person, who knows how to walk in God's kindness. She is a gracious person, who seems to always know the right thing to do in a situation. Even when her flesh may desire to strike back or to be petty, she is able to rise above that tendency, and to act in a manner which demonstrates the kindness and the graciousness of God. The level of graciousness Ellen exhibits can only be achieved by a person, who is deeply committed to walking in obedience to God's royal law of love regardless of the circumstances.
Paul also instructed the church at Ephesus to be compassionate, or to be tender hearted. As human beings we often seem ready to see God execute his judgment on sinners. But, God is patient, and he is slow to anger. His compassions fail not. And that is the way he wants the church to live.
On March 12th Brian Nichols, a man on trial in Atlanta for rape and other charges, overpowered a Fulton county sheriff's deputy and escaped. During the following minutes he murdered a Fulton county judge, a court reporter and a sheriff's deputy. Later in that day he killed a local resident, while robbing him of his money and his truck. Local authorities conducted a massive manhunt.
My feeling was "Brian Nichols is a dead man." I knew law enforcement would be ready to pull the trigger on him, when they had the opportunity. Judgement was in my heart for him. But, God had a different plan.
Even though Brian Nichols committed heinous crimes, God set up a situation for a young woman, Ashley Smith, to minister the compassion of Jesus Christ to him. Around 2:00 a.m. on the morning of March 13th, Brian Nichols took Ms. Smith captive outside of her apartment. He took her into the apartment and held her as his hostage. Over time she began to gain his trust. Ms. Smith began to minister God's kindness and compassion to him. She began to talk to Brian Nichols about God, and about his purpose for his life. She asked to read to him from Rick Warren's book "The Purpose Driven Life." In a time of crisis for herself and for Mr. Nichols, she became an instrument of hope, kindness and compassion in the hands of God.
You know the end of the story. He released her, and she called the police, and Brian Nichols surrendered without a shot being fired.
The Holy Spirit convicted me through this incident. I had judged Brian Nichols. I expected him to die, and if I was truly honest with my heart, I was initially disappointed that he was taken alive. In spite of his four murders God did not give up on Brian Nichols. His compassions fail not.
Most of us, thankfully, will never be faced with the trauma of being kidnapped by a murderer. But through Ashley Smith's response to her trauma, God taught me a lesson. Be kind, be compassionate, no matter what someone has done. As long as there is breath, there is hope that God's mercies and compassion will break through the hardened heart of someone in sin.
Next week we will examine the importance of forgiving others as Christ in God has forgiven us.
Wayne L. Williams
wayne@fotwm.org