The Fruit Of The Spirit
By Sandy Simpson

Lesson 1 - Love
Lesson 2 - Joy
Lesson 3 - Peace
Lesson 4 - Patience
Lesson 5 - Kindness
Lesson 6 - Goodness
Lesson 7 - Faithfulness
Lesson 8 - Gentleness
Lesson 9 - Self-control


LESSON 5 - KINDNESS

Biblical Examples Of Kindness

Everyone knows the story of the good Samaritan.

Luke 10:30 -37  In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half-dead.  A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.  So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.  But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.  He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him.  The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. `Look after him,' he said, `and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'  "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

A very clear point in this story is what Jesus said at the end.  "Go and DO likewise".  Not go and think likewise, or go and understand likewise.  We need to put kindness and mercy into action or else it is nothing but pity which leads to pride.  Kindness without action is useless.  It does no good for the person that needs the kindness.  The preist and the Levite knew all about kindness, but they did nothing about it.  Because they did nothing about it the man continued to suffer and would have most likely died if not for the Samaritan.  Anyone can be kind.  Samaritans were the lowest class of people around Israel.  As Christians we are to help the less fortunate, no matter how rich or poor we are.  We can always be of some help, even if it is just to be a friend.

Mark Twain once wrote, "Kindness is a language that the deaf can hear and the blind can read."  He was right, of course.  Everyone can understand the language of love.  It can be spoken in any dialect and still be comprehended by a person of any nationality, by the rich and the poor, by the old and the young, by both male and female.  Kindness is a universal language for it does not speak to the intellect, but directly to the heart.

Examples Of Kindness

Many times we are blind to the needs of others around us.

A contemporary mother of five lost her vision through illness.  She struggled with her blindness.  She had

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