An Introduction
Kindness seems rather self-explanatory, doesn’t it? Be kind. Yet what does that mean? So often we seem to regard “kindness” as merely the absence of being mean. I didn’t tease you, therefore I am kind. I held the door for you, so I am kind. What are active ways to be kind?
Read Jeremiah 9:24
Exploring the Passage
1) God combines kindness and justice together, but justice doesn’t always seem like something we would consider “kind” (for example, condemning cities to destruction). How do you see kindness reveal itself in justice?
2) Out of all his attributes, God chooses to declare he is kind, just, and righteous. Often we may see kindness as a weaker, unexceptional trait. Does this change your perception of what kindness means?
3) God exercises kindness, meaning he actively does acts that are kind. Brainstorm things that could be acts of kindness.
4) Anyone can be kind, right? Why is it considered a fruit of the spirit?
Charting the Course
1) Do you do acts of kindness, or do you just refrain from acts of meanness? What steps can you take to be an actively kind person?
