December 5, 2021: Be Kind

“A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself” (Prov. 11:17, ESV).

What is kindness? According to the dictionary, kindness is “a behavior of being friendly, generous, and considerate.” This means that smiling at someone, holding a door for someone, helping someone with schoolwork or giving money to homeless people are acts of kindness.

Do we need kindness? Absolutely. Kindness is valued by all cultures and religions. Proverbs 11:17 says that “a man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself.” I agree with King Solomon. When someone is being kind to me, I feel good, and when I do something kind to others, I feel good too.

As followers of Jesus, we are to be kind to everyone, even if we don’t feel like it, and even if the person is not nice or is different than us.

When David became king, he searched for anyone in Saul’s house to whom he could show kindness. He found Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan and the grandson of Saul. Mephibosheth was so afraid, thinking David would kill him! But David came to show kindness for the sake of his friend Jonathan. David gave Mephibosheth all the land that Saul owned, and Mephibosheth ate at the king’s table like one of the king’s sons. Now that is kindness.

Dear God, thank You for being “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness” (Ps. 103:8, NASB). Amen.

Dale Flynn is a fifth-grader at Vienna Adventist Academy in Virginia.