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You know, when I get to heaven one of the first people I want to talk with is the Apostle Paul, because I want to ask him if he was serious about some of those verses he wrote. In particular, the one which says, “Be anxious for nothing” (Philippians 4:6), and this one we’re looking at today, “Be kind to everyone.” That verse is found in 2 Timothy 2:24, which says, And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.
As they would say in the old west, that’s a “mighty tall order,” don’t you agree? If we’re kind to everyone, that would include strangers, people who irritate us, people who don’t do what they’re supposed to do, people who are slow, people who don’t appreciate any kindness we show them and never return it, people who don’t deserve our kindness.
You know, it’s no great thing to be kind to people who you like, who are kind in return. Even the hardest heart can usually do that. Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? (Matthew 5:46). But be kind to EVERYONE? Is that possible?
I remember an occasion where a fellow believer was most unkind to a certain person. The reason was simply because she didn’t like certain types of people because of prejudices from childhood and from some unpleasant experiences of her own. So, when this person walked in the door, she truly was unkind to her. However, moments later when another person came in, more to her liking, she was very gracious and kind to her.
It bothered me a great deal to see this happening within the Body of Christ; and yet you and I know it happens very frequently. We’re kind to those who suit us, but often unkind to those who, for whatever reason, we don’t feel inclined to be kind to.
It wasn’t many days after this that I found myself doing the same kind of thing. I was checking into a hotel and the clerk was not efficient. She was taking far too long and was very nonchalant about everything and it irritated me. After all, I thought, I’m the customer here. She’s inconveniencing me. Why can’t she just do her job and get me checked in without all this unnecessary delay?
And as I stood there, though I did not say anything inappropriate, the look on my face, the tone of my voice, and my whole body language sent the message loud and clear, and it was not a kind message. I could sense that she was aware of my unkind attitude.
As I walked away, the Holy Spirit let me have it. Why couldn’t I have been kind to her? All it required of me was a different look, a few nice words, and I could have shown her some kindness. But just because she didn’t perform the way I thought she should and I was inconvenienced one slight bit, I was unkind.
As is so often the case, I was irritated because my rights were violated, my schedule was very slightly interrupted, my plans were minimally delayed.
Then I realized that perhaps the people I find it most difficult to be kind to are strangers, people I don’t know and with whom I have very brief interactions. Sometimes it’s simply because my mind is so preoccupied with other things, and I just don’t take time to be kind. Sometimes it’s because I don’t like what they’re doing. But whatever the causes, there are no legitimate excuses. The servant of the Lord must be kind to everyone.
I was reading in Mark 6 where Jesus was trying to get away with his disciples to a solitary place to rest. As it was, they couldn’t even find time to eat because so many people were coming and going. So, they got in the boat to escape the crowds, but that didn’t work. The crowd followed them, and when the boat landed, they were there already, waiting for them. When Jesus saw them, we read that he “had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things” (Mark 6:34).
I thought, “Lord, you’re amazing. You were exhausted, and your disciples were exhausted, and you knew you needed some rest, and those people wouldn’t leave you alone. Yet, when you saw them, you were not in the least unkind to them. You had compassion on them.”
Jesus was kind to people who were making his life difficult, who were upsetting his plans and changing his schedule. People who in many cases were following him only for what they could get out of it—a free meal, healing of a physical problem. Their motives in many cases were selfish. Many were just curious. I’m quite certain that knowing their hearts, Jesus knew many of them did not deserve his compassion and kindness. Yet, he was kind. He saw their helpless, hopeless state—sheep without a shepherd—and he was kind.
On my several missions trips to East Africa, by far most of the people I met were loving and gracious. But I met a few who weren’t very pleasant, who were greedy and unkind. And it just reminded me that no matter where we serve the Lord, we’re going to find people who are not so easy to be kind to. Even people who are Christians can be difficult to be kind to. If we only show kindness when people deserve it, we won’t show much kindness, and there will be no reward in heaven for that.
You know, we are sometimes unkind to the people closest to us, the ones we interact with on a daily basis, like family, friends, co-workers. Perhaps we just forget to practice kindness with these people, or, needless to say, they may also be difficult to be kind to at times.
This attitude of being kind to everyone is absolutely contrary to what we hear all around us in our humanistic society. That’s why it offers us such a tremendous opportunity to demonstrate Jesus’ love, because it’s extremely rare to find people being kind to everyone.
Now, of course, being kind to everyone doesn’t mean that we are sugary sweet to everyone, nor does it mean that we behave hypocritically. Jesus was very direct with some people. He never pretended to approve of behavior when it was wrong. Sometimes the kindest thing we can do is tell someone the truth. I think there are times when kindness will lead us to be very frank and very direct. We just have to keep a close watch on our motives. Are we doing it because we’re angry, or because we want to help them?
How can we start to be kind to everyone? Well, don’t wait until you feel like it because you never will. Begin by making a list of people that you find it difficult to be kind to. I’m sure there are some specific people in your life, that as soon as they walk into the room, you feel that knot in your stomach and nothing in you wants to be kind to them. Perhaps, like my friend, you have prejudices towards groups of people and you carry those prejudicial thoughts over into unkind actions. Maybe, like me, you have difficulty being kind to strangers. Make a list.
Then, make those areas targets of intensified specific prayer. Ask God to help you be kind to those people. Ask him to keep it uppermost in your mind. Ask him to give you the power to speak and act kindly toward them, even though they don’t deserve it, or you don’t feel like it, or they don’t appreciate it. Spell it all out to God.
Memorize a few verses, like 1 Thessalonians 5:15: Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. And 2 Timothy 2:24, which I’ve quoted already. Then there’s the one we learned in Sunday School, Ephesians 4:32: Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Recite these verses daily. Put them on cards in front of you or on your phone or screen saver. Make it a high priority to think about being kind to everyone.
Then, pray for the people who you find it difficult to be kind to. That will do a great deal to change your attitude toward them.
Now with all that, just see what starts to happen in your life as you put into practice this principle to be kind to everyone. It is not mission impossible; God doesn’t give us principles that are beyond us. That’s because we have the Holy Spirit within us to give us his power to accomplish these impossible missions. If you’ll follow these simple steps I’ve suggested, you will see such tremendous changes in your attitudes toward co-workers, bosses, friends, family, and yes, even strangers.
I challenge you to join me in seeking to apply this truth to your daily life.