Just Being Nice


“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”  Ephesians 4:32

Getting back to the daily grind was a challenge after a long weekend. I am usually tired and not in a great mood. But I made a point of being nice throughout the day. I welcomed people back, fetched coffee, and thanked those who held the elevator door open for me. And when I arrived home after my tough first day back, I even tried to radiate niceness when I greeted my wife, the kids, and Jasper, the dog.

However, God wants us to be more than just a nice person. He wants us to be kind and compassionate. There is a difference.

Without kindness and a sense of compassion, God knows we can become cold toward our brothers and sisters’ cries for help. Numbness invades our hearts, making it hard to hear and care for our hurting neighbors, and even difficult for us to notice the loving voice of God.

To save lost souls adrift from our Savior, we need to be more than just another nice Christian, more than a voice of passing pleasantries. We need to be more like Jesus Christ, who revealed his love of neighbor through acts of kindness and compassion. He reached out to the ill and disabled, he offered mercy and forgiveness, and he comforted those who mourned and grieved.

Our Father in heaven wants us to be images of his Son — because there is no limit to the kindness Jesus has shown each of us. How then can we put an arbitrary limit on kindness when it comes to others?

Lord, help me to develop the patience I need to be kinder. Even with all the frustrations and irritations surrounding us nowadays, I know with a heart open to your abundance of grace, we can all be more compassionate and kind to each other. Amen.

By Doug Lim
Used by Permission

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FURTHER READING

Extending Grace to Others

Love is Patient and Kind – a story of a man on a bus

Be Patient

Learn more about knowing Jesus at: https://thoughts-about-god.com/four-laws/


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