The Word is “Kind”

As a friend and I conversed a couple weeks ago, she challenged me to choose a word to study  for the year. By study, she did not merely mean the definition(s) of a word, but explore how it does/can/should impact my life. To be honest, at first I didn’t really consider this task, however, as a particular word kept showing up in my reading I began to reconsider.

One morning my devotional reading centered on Ephesians 4:32.

  ^“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

Then, I overheard a mother telling her child to be kind. I was also reading a biography where the author was emphasizing 1 Corinthians 13:4a.

 ^“Love is patient and kind”

She shared the hard truth that often we are not patient and do not show kindness to our children and spouse. The question, “If I truly love my family, is it evident through my kindness towards them?” began to haunt me. It hit me like a slap in the face, when I responded in a not-so-kind way to Hubby. That’s what it took for me to submit to the word challenge, and the word is “KIND”.

To begin my study, I looked up the definition and made a quick Bible search. Kind is a willingness to do good or give pleasure, a sympathetic attitude towards others, having a good or benevolent nature or disposition,considerate, helpful. Kind is a popular word in the Bible. Some of the many verses I looked up are Psalm 41:1, 145:17, Proverbs 3:3, 11:17, 16:24, 31:26, Romans 2:4, 12:8, 12:10, Galatians 5:22, Ephesians 1:7, 1:8, Colossians 3:12, 1 Timothy 5:10, 2 Timothy 2:24, 2 Peter 1:7

As I’ve continued to think about the study of “KIND”, I’m realizing what a challenge it will be. You see, I don’t want to merely recognize kindness, but I want my life and love to be overflowing with kindness. For this to happen, I need to study, memorize, and remember God’s words on kindness. I also, need to boldly ask God to reveal the unkindness I harbor, and then repent and ask God to transform the unkindness to kindness.

Have you ever selected a word for the year? If not, would you like to take this challenge? Your word doesn’t have to be the same as mine; maybe God has a different word for you to discover. However, if you’d like to join me with my selected word, the word is “KIND”.