In Ephesians 4:32 we’re told to “be kind to one another.” That seems pretty simple, though we can easily forget to put it into practice.
Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.
Sometimes living as a Christian is complicated. Sometimes it’s pretty simple. In Ephesians 4:32 we’re told to “be kind to one another.” That seems pretty simple, though we can easily forget to put it into practice. We have a great opportunity to make the love of God tangible to others by treating them with kindness, just as God has treated us in Christ.
Ephesians 4:32 gives us a shortlist of actions in which all followers of Jesus should major. This verse says, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.” There it is. A simple list of ways we can live that serve others and glorify God.
Today I’d like to focus on the imperative, “Be kind to one another.” Kindness involves doing good things for others, especially in situations when others are unworthy or unable to reciprocate. If you do good because you owe someone or because you might get something in return, that’s not really kindness. God’s kindness, for example, can be seen in the fact that he is “kind to the ungrateful and the wicked” (Luke 6:35). Earlier in Ephesians, God’s kindness is an expression of his incomparably rich grace (Ephesians 2:7). You can think of kindness as a tangible expression of grace.
So then, are you kind? Do you do good things for the people in your life, not only because it’s expected of you, but “just because”? Do you think of ways you can serve and encourage your co-workers? Spouse? Family members? Friends? Neighbors? Even people you don’t know? When somebody you supervise at work messes up, do you treat that person kindly, dealing with the problem in a way that doesn’t strip away that person’s dignity? Do you treat kindly those whom our culture undervalues?
We have the chance to show kindness to the folks we encounter at work, in our neighborhoods, at the market, and even in our own homes. May God give us the grace to follow the guidance of Ephesians 4:32 as we are kind to others.
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