Being kind is NOT a Suggestion
Jesus had some things to say about being kind. Actually, Jesus had some things to say about loving one another, and being kind to each other would certainly fall under that umbrella. The point here is that kindness is not something we have the right to make a choice about. It is a commandment, period. Jesus said so. Enough said, right?
Matthew 22: 37-40
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
John 13:34
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Love matters to God: a lot. How much does it matter to Him? Well, just read the above passage. Jesus taught us that the greatest commandment is to love God with everything we have. And the second greatest commandment is like it: we are to love our neighbor like we love ourselves.
Jesus didn’t say these two were the biggest suggestions; He said they are the biggest commandments! These aren’t things Jesus would have us do if we don’t mind, or if we agree or if we like it.
We are to love our neighbor just as we love ourselves, which for most of us is fairly completely. God says so. If we choose to NOT love our neighbor, we are basically thumbing our noses in the fact of Almighty God! That is really not a good idea.
That was not the only instance where Jesus made it crystal clear that to love our fellow man is not something He would really, really like us to do, but is a commandment. Jesus feels strongly about the things He has commanded us to do. In John 14:15 Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” If we love Jesus, if we are one of His, we will strive to do as he says; in our devotional verse we learn that He commands us to love one another.
Isn’t that fairly simple? If we love Jesus, we will love one another.
How did God love us? John 3:16 tells us that:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
“The world” is from an obscure Greek word which means “everybody in the world.” Okay, it’s not really obscure; it simply means what it says. The point is, we are to love the world as well. Before anyone gets excited and starts telling me that The Bible says not to love the world, let me define. Loving the world means loving the people of the world, not the things of the world.
Just in case the point was not clear, let’s recap what Jesus had to say about His commandment to love.
John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another
John 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
1 John 4:21And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
Got all that? Seems pretty clear.
Truth in Palmyra 
March 29, 2017 at 07:06
AMEN! A COMMAND not a suggestion!!!
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March 29, 2017 at 07:06
Good morning Elizabeth, and thanks!
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March 29, 2017 at 07:17
Good morning, Wally! What a blessing to know that Jesus made a way for us and that He continues to make ways for us to BE KIND TO AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER!
Can you please say a prayer for a young man named Louis that he will acknowledge the Lord and be cured of his struggles? That he may come to The Knowledge of our Lord to give him that peace that goes WAY beyond our understanding. He continues to reject The Lord ~ But the Lord has allowed many seeds to be planted even as Louis rejects Him.
Our God is a PATIENT God~ I know that from my own struggles ~ as I am sure you know that, too!
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March 29, 2017 at 07:19
Louis…..got it and yes I will do that.
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March 29, 2017 at 07:41
Kinda sad that commandments are today viewed as suggestions or guidelines. It seems that we have forgotten how to be acc
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March 29, 2017 at 07:42
Accountable for actions
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March 29, 2017 at 07:51
That is for sure, Kathy. Accountability is NOT popular.
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March 29, 2017 at 08:33
Thank you, Wally! OUR GOD IS ABLE ❤
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March 29, 2017 at 09:09
Wally,
I had a AHA moment re-reading John 13:34 this morning. Why did Yeshua say “new” commandment? Here is how the Jewish New Testament Commentary answered that questions:
Why is this a new commandment? Doesn’t Leviticus 19:18 already say, “Love your neighbor as yourself? The difference is this: Leviticus says, “as yourself;” Yeshua says, “In the same way that I have loved you,” which presupposes that God’s way of loving can be ours. Humanly this is impossible. But Yeshua gives us a new nature, a new spirit, in fulfillment of Tanakh promises (Ezekiel 36:26, 37:14; Jeremiah 31:32(33)), God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit. This is how we can love as God loves; God makes it possible.
Don
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March 29, 2017 at 09:27
Excellent Don, I am going to remeber this.
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March 29, 2017 at 10:24
Don…that was fascinating. Thanks for that. That is why I love this…I learn everyday!
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March 29, 2017 at 10:51
As do I.
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March 29, 2017 at 09:26
Really like the posts about kindness Wally.
Also likes what Don said. Very interesting perspective. I have never thought about it like that before.
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March 29, 2017 at 10:23
Wasn’t it, though?
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March 29, 2017 at 09:50
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
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March 29, 2017 at 10:22
Thanks brother Vincent
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March 29, 2017 at 16:24
My pleasure Brother Wally!!
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March 29, 2017 at 10:14
Good mornin Wally.
I’ve observed this subject with great interest too brother. And here’s what I found.
When Jesus was citing that we should love God and others with all of our being, (like in Matthew 22.36-40). He was making the case that it was the summary of the law…an impossibility.
But at the last supper in John 13.34-35, and in 1 John 3.23, we see a change in tone. No longer is there the (law based) requiem to love God with all of our being, (which we couldn’t do on our best day).
Notice the softening in command. Basically, it’s to believe on Christ, and love other people…the law based requiem is removed.
That’s the natural flow anyway is it not? We love folks because of our new heart, not from a command.
Anyhoo,
That’s my two cents.
Your friend,
Lee
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March 29, 2017 at 10:26
Hi Lee, I appreciate that thought.
I agree that it is only our new heart that allows us to do it.
I do stand by the idea that it is nonetheless something we are commanded to do. Our new heart gives us the ability, but that doesn’t mean we will.
Good two cents, though.
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March 29, 2017 at 12:08
Have you noticed that making the decision to love others brings more benefit to ourselves than to those we are showing the love? This is because we tap into God’s empowering grace. Grace is the action to God’s love for us.
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March 29, 2017 at 12:16
That’s a really good point Patrick. The person we choose to love, or not love, may be in perfect fellowship with God. In that case we won’t change their lives at all. But, we can certainly change our own by getting with this program. Great point!
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March 29, 2017 at 23:42
Christian kindness is not an option.
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March 30, 2017 at 04:20
Nope, it is not.
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May 23, 2017 at 06:00
wonderful reminder
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May 23, 2017 at 06:10
Thank you very much for reading and the encouragement.
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May 31, 2017 at 03:07
Kindness is what God wants to see in us. Amazingly written though. 😇
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May 31, 2017 at 04:30
I agree it is, and thank you
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June 6, 2017 at 12:02
Hi Wally…good post…all true. One issue that thankfully I have not had except for one or two times in my life…is where to draw the line between being loving…and not being a floor-mat for people at work to walk all over.
I had to get in someone’s face a few years ago…who was way out of line…and I lost my temper in the verbal exchange…which is very unusual for me…and am now armed to go forward with this valuable lesson from failure to watch myself if this should happen again in the future.
This person was so disagreeable at work that two women quit their jobs because of her. But I learned that it takes supernatural control to keep our cool and not react in kind when someone comes out of nowhere to attack us unfairly and inaccurately.
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June 6, 2017 at 12:14
Thanks for sharing that Barton. It’s nice to have a real life example of how following Jesus can actually work for us.
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June 14, 2017 at 19:43
Another verse that works well with this topic is John 15:13…”Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
A person who has the Spirit of Jesus…a new born-again heart…will then also have this same capacity to lay down his life for his friends.
Isn’t that what new Christians do when they start out after conversion…discovering that not everyone is receptive to their testimony…and thus they commit themselves to a life following Jesus that will demonstrate the truth of God’s love for “their friends?”
I think that the journeys of faith portrayed in the Bible reveal a giving up of people’s lives directly and indirectly for other people…then at the time and also in the future…with the precisely crafted life-script God composed for them.
I think it is worth thinking about…that our God-composed life-script contains this element that will actualize this greatest love for our friends within the playing out of the events that God enlists us in.
For the second time…good post Wally.
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June 14, 2017 at 19:56
And for the second time…great addition to the conversation Barton . For some reason your reference to a God created life script was really comforting to me. Thanks for that
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June 15, 2017 at 08:42
Kindness should be spread by everyone, kindness will cost us nothing… God commands us to be good to one another and learn to help each other instead of criticizing/hating one another
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June 15, 2017 at 09:06
Well, I certainly can’t add much to that. It certainly does cost us nothing! Thanks so much for that.
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July 5, 2017 at 14:59
Great words
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July 5, 2017 at 15:54
Thanks much
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June 2, 2017 at 05:39
Thanks for the link!
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June 2, 2017 at 05:39
Thank you for the link
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June 17, 2017 at 04:25
Thanks for sharing, much appreciated!
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