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"But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control. Against such things there is no law." Galatians
5:22-23 This study is about kindness and goodness. When you first
look at this verse in scripture you may think that kindness and goodness are the
same thing. Let's look at the following definitions to see if we can
distinguish the difference between kindness and goodness:
 | Kindness - having a good or benevolent nature or disposition;
desiring to do good to others; the sincere desire for the happiness of
others (the thinking)
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| Goodness - moral excellence; virtue; generosity; the
activity calculated to advance kindness (the doing) |
It has been stated by a published author "kindness is the sincere
desire for the happiness of others. Goodness is the activity calculated to
advance that happiness." Kindness is the thinking, the thinking of
others. Goodness is the doing. If kindness is the thinking then
goodness is the doing.
Now let's look at Acts 10, verse 37 & 38 - "You
know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism
that John preached-how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and
power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the
power of the devil, because God was with him." The
word healing in this context doesn't limit itself to just physical healing, it
can be mental, emotional or spiritual healing as well. Jesus of Nazareth
was anointed with the Holy Spirit, and with power. Jesus went about doing
good, healing the whole body, all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was
with Him. Jesus went about meeting the needs of other people, showing
kindness and goodness.
A lot of times we exhibit kindness when we think about other
people, desiring good things or happiness for others. The question to ask
is "Do we do anything about it?" In other words "Will I
calculate the activity that is necessary to advance that kindness in some
way?". Kindness (the thinking) is just the beginning. It
is like a seed that God plants in our lives through the Holy Spirit.
Goodness (the doing) is the next step that God wants us to take through the
power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. It may be helping someone by
providing food or shelter or clothing. It could be that we might be called
upon to provide transportation for the elderly or sick. Or maybe God will
lead you to visit the sick and those that are unable to leave their homes due to
age or disabilities. It certainly involves witnessing to
unbelievers. There are lots of other ways not listed above that we can
extend goodness to others.
Now let's look to scripture for some examples where Jesus
exhibited both kindness and goodness:
| Mathew 8, verses 1 thru 3: 'When
he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man
with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you
are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus reached out his hand
and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be
clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.' Jesus
expressed kindness when he reached out his hand and said to the man "I
am willing". Jesus was sympathetic to
the man's condition. Jesus saw the man's faith. Leprosy was a
dreaded disease and lepers were avoided and shunned. By reaching out
His hand and touching the man, Jesus was demonstrating kindness.
Jesus didn't stop there, He showed forth goodness by performing a
miracle when He said to the man
"Be clean!" and the man was cured
of his leprosy.
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| Mathew 14 verses 13 thru 21: 'When
Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary
place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the
towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on
them and healed their sick. As evening approached, the disciples came
to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting
late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy
themselves some food." Jesus replied, "They do not need to
go away. You give them something to eat." "We have
here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they
answered. "Bring them here to me," he said. And he
directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves
and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the
loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave
them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples
picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The
number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and
children.' In
these verses we see acts of kindness and acts of goodness. Just prior
to this event, Jesus had heard that John the Baptist had been
beheaded. Herod the king had given the order for John's
beheading. Jesus was needing some time alone and had withdrew to a
solitary place. The crowds probably did not know that Jesus wanted
some time alone, they just wanted to be near him so they followed him.
Jesus didn't tell them to go away because he needed some time alone, rather
he demonstrated kindness to them by having compassion on them. He then
demonstrated goodness by healing their sick. As the day progressed, the disciples
suggested that Jesus send the crowds away so that they could go to their
villages and buy themselves some food. This may have been a kind gesture on the
part of the disciples as they were some distance away from the nearest
village. I truly believe that the disciples thought this was the best
thing to do. Jesus' reply was to feed the crowd rather than send them
away. Jesus blessed what was available which happened to be five
loaves of bread and two fish. We see in these verses a miracle being
performed. We now see goodness in action. How many times do we
do well when it comes to acts of kindness but fail to follow through with
acts of goodness? It's important not only to be sympathetic and
compassionate to others (acts of kindness), we should also follow through by
actually helping others (acts of goodness). And as illustrated in the
verses above, it's not important how much or how little we have, what's
important is that we are willing to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit
to touch lives through both acts of kindness and acts of
goodness.
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| John Chapter 4, verses 4 thru 30 and verse 39 - 'Now
he had to go thru Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called
Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
"Sir,"
the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is
deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than
our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did
also his sons and his flocks and herds?" Jesus answered,
"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever
drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I
give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal
life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so
that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw
water." He told her, "Go, call your husband and come
back." "I have no husband," she replied. Jesus
said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. The
fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your
husband. What you have just said is quite true."
"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a
prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim
that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." Jesus
declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship
the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans
worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is
from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true
worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the
kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers
must worship in spirit and in truth." The woman said, "I
know that Messiah (called Christ) is coming. When he comes, he will
explain everything to us." Then Jesus declared, "I who speak
to you am he." Just then his disciples returned and were
surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked,
"What do you want?" or "Why are you talking with
her?" Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the
town and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me everything I
ever did. Could this be the Christ?" They came out of the
town and made their way toward him. ..........Many of the Samaritans
from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He
told me everything I ever did." Wow!
Where do we start? Did you see all the acts of kindness that Jesus
showed forth to the Samaritan woman? It was customary in those days
that men did not carry on conversations with women unless they were family
members or betrothed to one another. Jews certainly did not have
anything to do with Samaritans much less talking to them. Sounds like
some of the same ethnic issues that we still have going on today in various
parts of the world, doesn't it? Jesus chose to break the ethnic
barrier and extended an act of kindness toward the Samaritan woman by
talking with her and eventually effected an act of goodness by revealing to
her that he was indeed the Messiah. As a result, the woman was saved
and her testimony resulted in many more Samaritans being saved. Can I
say it again? Wow! |
| Titus Chapter 3, verses 3 thru 7 - "At
one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived, and enslaved by all
kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being
hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God
our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had
done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of
rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously
through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his
grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life."
Verse 3 describes the lost condition we are in before salvation. Look
now at verse 4 and 5 for just a moment. It states But
when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us..."
When the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, it
doesn't stop there. The next verse, the next three words are the
goodness. That's the goodness that God showed to us. That Christ
followed through by dying on the cross for us to take our place so that we
could be justified and become joint heirs with Christ and have the hope of
eternal life. That is the doing on the part of Christ. He
saved us. He went to the cross. That was the goodness that he
showed us. |
Our purpose in life, of course, is to glorify God. In
Galatians 5:13 - "You, my
brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to
indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in
love." Ephesians 4:32 - "Be
kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in
Christ God forgave you." Ephesians 5:1
thru 2 - "Be imitators of
God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ
loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to
God."
If you go back through the verses we just looked at in Mathew,
John, and Titus, Jesus never stopped with the kindness. He always
calculated the activity required to meet the needs for the sincere happiness and
joy of others. Jesus never fell short when it came to goodness.
Now let's look at Luke chapter 6, verse 35 - "But
love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get
anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the
Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked." You
know it is easy for us to be kind to people who are kind; to people who are
loving; to people who are nice. It's real easy to be nice to those people,
to be kind, to even show goodness to those people. But I want you to see
for just a moment; remember we are to be imitators of God as stated in
Ephesians 5:1 ("Be imitators of
God, therefore, as dearly loved children). Now
let's look closely again at Luke 6:35, it says in the last part of the
verse, "....because
he (referring to God)
is kind to the ungrateful and wicked." God
is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. You know what that says to you and I
? We're to be kind and good to believers and unbelievers. To the
loving and unloving. To those who do not deserve it. When Christ
went to the cross; that's what grace is, unmerited favor. That is
what Christ showed to us on the cross, unmerited favor.
We've already read in Acts 10:38 where it says "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and
power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the
power of the devil, because God was with him."
Even Jesus had the anointing of the Holy Spirit in the power of the Holy Spirit
which enabled Him to go about doing good for He was fully man while he was
here. Now look at Acts chapter 2, verses 38 & 39 - '
Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of
Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for
all who are far off-for all whom the Lord our God will call." Now
look at Ephesians chapter 1, verses 13 & 14 - "And
you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of
you salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the
promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the
redemption of those who are God's possession-to the praise of his
glory." After listening to the gospel of
our salvation and having believed, we simultaneously received the Holy Spirit
(it is not a time sequence). Remember, at the moment of your salvation you
receive the Holy Spirit. You receive what you need in order to fulfill the
Fruits of the Spirit at the time of your salvation when you first
believed.
We are to be walking by the spirit and not by the flesh.
How do we do that? Only through the power of the Holy Spirit! You
might say, "I just don't have what it takes !" Yes you
do! When you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you were given
the power of the Holy Spirit. You were given all that you need. He
is the author and perfector of our faith. He will be faithful to complete
what He has started in you. You will not have need of anything. You
have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
That's what it says in Ephesians, so you can have the assurance to know that
anytime there is an opportunity for you to be kind, go ahead and calculate
the activity required to advance that happiness and joy that God has given you;
the power that you need is there and available through the Holy Spirit. He
has not left you alone there to figure it out by yourself. The question
is, "Will we be obedient to follow through? Will we be obedient to do
the "doing"? If you are trying to do it in your own flesh, you
won't be able to do it. What we have to depend upon is not
ourselves; not our own resources; but realize that when God calls us
to do something, to extend that goodness that is necessary, that He will enable
us to do it. He will provide everything that is needed to accomplish His
will.
Conclusion
"Acts of Kindness" almost always are precursors to "Acts of
Goodness". Be
sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit when He is urging you to show acts
of kindness. And remember not to quench the leading of the Holy Spirit by failing
to see the opportunity provided for the acts of goodness that God wants to provide
through you to touch the lives of others.
Bible verses referenced in this
presentation
are from the following translation:
New International Version
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