FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
KINDNESS
DR. JIM DIXON
JULY 13, 1986
GALATIANS 5:22-25, LUKE 10:25-37
His name was Giovanni. He was born in 1181. He was born in Italy. At that time, Italy was not a united country, but it was a collection of city states, and most of these cities were at war with each other. Now, Giovanni was a big man in his city because his father was a very wealthy textile merchant, and Giovanni was the heir to a vast fortune. Therefore, many people looked up to Giovanni, and when he was a young man, he entered into the social, political, and economic arenas of the city’s life. But in the year 1202, Giovanni’s city went to war with a nearby city of Perugia, and Giovanni was taken captive, and for two horrible years, he was placed in prison. During that time, Giovanni had had time to contemplate the meaning of life and the purpose of life, and life he concluded was a riddle—at least to him. But in the year 1205, something happened to Giovanni. He experienced something that very few people in all of history have had the privilege of experiencing. He had a vision of the resurrected Christ, and Giovanni’s life was radically changed, and he renounced his father’s wealth. He turned his back on his vast inheritance. He took a vow of poverty. He went and he lived among the poor people and the needy people, and he gave his life in the service of those people. He gave his life to the proclamation of the person of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and he said he had one purpose in his life and one purpose above all else, and that was that through his life, people might see the kindness of Jesus Christ. In the year 1210, he founded the Franciscan Order. It was sanctioned by Pope Innocent III, and that order continues to minister to this day. In the year 1212, he became a missionary to the Muslim world, and he took the gospel of Christ and the love of Christ to the Muslim peoples. He wanted them to see Christ as well as hear the gospel by word. He wanted them to see Christ in his actions and in his kindness. In 1224 on a mountain outside of Rome, Giovanni began to manifest for the first time the stigmata, as blood began to mystically or mysteriously appear from his hands, from his side, and from his feet as he bore in his body, without explanation the marks of Christ’s crucifixion. He said he would have gladly bled to death. If by that act people might see the love of Christ. In 1226, Giovanni died. In 1228, the Roman Catholic Church canonized him. His full name was Giovanni Francisco Bernardoni, but historians generally refer to him simply as St. Francis of Assisi.
He is most famous for his kindness to animals and perhaps he did have a special gift of God there, but you see, the Roman Catholic Church did not canonize St. Francis because of his kindness to animals. They canonized him because of his kindness to people and that through his life, people saw the kindness of Jesus Christ. Now, we are not a Roman Catholic church. We’re not going to canonize any of you. Doesn’t matter how kind you are, how much blood you shed, or the miracles that you that are wrought through your life. You will not be canonized in this church. But there is a God in heaven and He honors and blesses those who serve his son. One of the greatest services that you can render the son of God is that through your life, people might see His kindness. So this morning I would like to share with you on the subject of kindness, and I would like to speak of its cause and effect in the first teaching concerning the cause of kindness. What causes some people to be more kind than others? What causes some Christians to be more kind than others?
On Sunday night, December 29, 1946, Timothy Sullivan answered the telephone at the city desk of the Miami Herald. “Please help me,” a voice said, “My husband is bleeding to death.” And the woman went on to tell how her husband was named Rudy Covarrick. They were from Dearborn, Michigan. They were on vacation in Florida and a horrible, tragic accident happened to Rudy. He was in the Biscayne Hospital. The doctor said he would not make it through the night. He had AB Rh negative blood. There was no such blood at the hospital or any hospital nearby. Timothy Sullivan didn’t know what to do. A man was dying, and a woman was desperate. But then he remembered the radio station WCBS and how in a few moments—it was only 14 blocks away that radio station—and in a few moments, Walter Winchell would be going on the air in a national broadcast, and Timothy Sullivan thought, maybe I can call the radio station and get Walter Winchell to share this need with the nation. He called the radio station. He was not allowed to talk to Walter Winchell, but he was allowed, allowed to talk to one of the assistants and the assistant relayed the message to Walter Winchell and Walter Winchell relayed the message to the people of the United States of America and what happened was astounding because the telephones literally began to ring off the hook—at the city desk of the Miami Herald at the surrounding police departments and at that Biscayne Hospital. People as far away as New York City with AB Rh-negative blood got on planes and flew to Miami. and the corridors of the hospital were jammed with people, and the streets outside of the hospital were jammed with traffic That night, literally hundreds of people with AB Rh-negative blood tried to get to that hospital so they might save a dying man. As it turned out, the actual donor was only three blocks away. It was two weeks later that Rudy Covarrick walked out of that hospital, a healthy man, and the first thing he did was he went to the city desk of the Miami Herald to thank Timothy Sullivan for his kindness. And then he publicly thanked all the people around this country for their kindness.
You know, sometimes it seems like there’s an awful lot of kindness in this world, and other times it seems like there’s just not enough kindness in this world. What would cause a person in New York City to board an airplane and fly to Miami to give blood to a total stranger? Many of the people who were interviewed afterward said that they did that because they were moved with compassion. They said when Walter Winchell spoke on the radio, their hearts were moved with compassion, and of course, that was also the case with the Good Samaritan because the Bible tells us that when he saw a dying man by the Jericho Road, he was moved with compassion and that compassion led to kindness and we might be led to believe at least on the surface, that kindness is rooted in compassion,… That kindness is caused by compassion… That kindness is motivated by compassion above all else. But that would be wrong Biblically because as Christians, the kindness that we’re called to manifest is not primarily rooted in compassion. Compassion is a feeling. The Greek word in the Bible for compassion is “symponia” a word that describes a “stirring of inward emotion.” It’s a word that describes feelings of affection for another person. And the world shows kindness when it feels compassion. The world shows kindness when it feels affection. But you see, as Christians, we are called to show kindness, not because of our feelings, but in spite of our feelings. We are called to show kindness to all people. Not only to the people we like but the people we don’t like. Not only to our friends but also to our enemies. And the Bible tells us that true Christian kindness is rooted in agape. This is a Greek word used in the Bible to describe a very special kind of love.
It says in 1 Corinthians, chapter 13, “Love is kind.” And the Greek word is “Aagape.” In fact, the story of the Good Samaritan was told in response to the commandment, to “Love thy neighbor” and again, the word that is used is “agape.” Agape love is not a feeling. It is not an emotion. It’s not a feeling of affection. Greek and Biblical scholars tell us that agape love is a commitment to benevolent action. It’s not centered on emotions. It’s centered in the will. “Eros love, romantic love is centered in the emotions. “Phileo” love, friendship, love is centered in the emotions, but agape love is centered in the will—”a commitment to benevolent action towards other people,” and for the Christian, that’s the cause of kindness, a commitment to treat other people lovingly.
If our kindness was centered on compassion and feelings, we would be helpless because we can’t control our feelings, but you see, we can make a commitment. You can make a commitment today to go forth from this place in the name of Christ and treat other people lovingly. The word “agape” simply means “to act towards other people in such a way that benefits them,” “to act towards other people in such a way as to establish the good for them,” and “to give yourself and the service of their need.”
The world shows kindness when it’s convenient. There was a study at Princeton Seminary, Princeton University not too long ago. A professor from the School of Ethics decided to conduct a survey, so he had 15 of his students meet him at Spear Library, and there at Spear Library, he split these 15 students into three groups of five. He said he was gonna conduct a little test. He wanted them to go to Stewart Hall. The first group of five he called the “High Hurry Group” and he gave them 15 minutes to get to Stewart Hall. The second group of five, he called the “Medium Hurry Group,” and he gave them 45 minutes to get to Stewart Hall. The third group, he called the “Low Hurry Group, and he gave them three hours to get to Stewart Hall. Now, the students didn’t understand. They didn’t understand the purpose. They only knew that the professor had told them that if they didn’t arrive within the allotted period of time, it would be reflected in their grades, and they believed that. Now, the professor told them that in order to get to Stewart Hall, they would have to pass Alexander Hall and the Miller Chapel, and the professor had recruited three students from the drama department to fake injuries along the way. At Alexander Hall, there was one student from the drama department pretending to have a head injury and he was holding his head and he was acting like he was in tremendous pain. In front of Miller Chapel on the steps, there was a drama student pretending to be unconscious, just sprawled out on the steps of the chap. At Stewart Hall, the final destination, there was another drama student who was pretending to experience an epileptic seizure. Well, they found that the “High Hurry Group” which had only 15 minutes, zero of those five students stopped to help. The “Medium Hurry Group” that had 45 minutes, two of the five stopped to help. And the “Low Hurry Group” that had three hours, all five—five out of five—stopped to help. In a published report by Princeton University, this test stated that kindness and compassion for most people in this world is a matter of convenience and I suppose that’s probably true for most people in this world, but it’s not meant to be that way for the Christian.
Kindness and compassion is a commitment. It’s a commitment that God wants all of us who take the name of Jesus Christ to make the moment you make that commitment to act benevolently toward other people, in that moment, God sends the Holy Spirit within you and His power within you, and you bear the fruit of kindness in your life. Perhaps you need to make that commitment daily, but you see, it wasn’t convenient for the Good Samaritan to stop on Jericho Road, and it wasn’t convenient for the Good Samaritan to go and bandage the wounds of that dying man, and it wasn’t convenient to pour on oil and wine and it wasn’t convenient to put that man on his beast of burden, and it wasn’t convenient to take that man to an in, and it wasn’t convenient to spend the night with him, and it wasn’t convenient to spend the money for his care, but he did those things out of a commitment to kindness and love. The incredible thing is that an all probability that the dying man on Jericho Road was the Samaritan’s enemy because in all probability, that dying man on Jericho Road was a Jew, as were the priests and the Levite, but the Samaritans and the Jews hated each other and they had no dealings with each other, but here’s an illustration from Christ that is Christians, as we are called to show kindness not only to our friends but also to our enemies. Not only when it’s convenient, but when it’s inconvenient. Not only when we have feelings of compassion, but at all times, not because of feelings, but in spite of them. That is why Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount said, “I say to all who hear, love your enemies, do good to those that hate you, bless those that curse you, pray for those that abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer him the other as well. From him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you and from him who takes away your goods, do not ask for them again, but as you would have men do to you do so to them. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you are kind to those who are kind to you, what credit is that to you for even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much again. But I say to you, love your enemies. Be kind and lend, expecting nothing in return and your rewards shall be great, and you shall be called Children of the Most High for he as kind even to the ungrateful and the selfish. So be merciful as your Father in heaven is merciful.” That’s the commitment that God expects us to make—a commitment to loving kindness rooted in agape.
Secondly, and finally, I would like to think of kindness in terms of its effect. How does kindness impact the world in which we live? First of all, kindness has a ministerial effect. All ministries on this earth are rooted in loving kindness and ministry that is not rooted in love or in compassion or in kindness or in benevolent action is a ministry that’s devoid of power, and that is why Jesus said, “All men will know you are my disciples if you love.”
Some time ago, we had neighbors who lived a few houses away, an elderly couple, and Barb and I never really got to know them, but we heard them a lot because they fought, and when they fought, particularly the elderly woman shouted very loudly, and you could hear her voice just echoing off the roofs of the houses. She seemed to be extremely distraught at times, obviously very much a hurting person. Some people said she was an alcoholic. I don’t know if that was true, but one day Heather and her friends were playing in the park behind this woman’s house and she came out back and she started shouting at Heather for no apparent reason, though Heather was cutting down her fence. Just kidding, not really. Heather was just playing in the park, and for no apparent reason, she just started shouting, and Heather was afraid, and she was kind of startled, and she ran, and she started crying, and she came to us at her house, and she told us what had happened, and she spoke of that “mean woman.” I told Heather that, that that woman probably had a lot of inner hurts. She probably was wounded. I told Heather that she perhaps was a very, very lonely person, and I could see Heather’s facial expression change. Later that day I saw Heather in the kitchen and she was baking cookies, something that Heather doesn’t often do, and I asked Heather why she was doing that. She said she was gonna take the cookies to that woman, and that’s what she did. She and Drew put cookies on a plate and they put cellophane over the tap and they wrapped it in a bow, and then Heather put a little card on the plate and that card said, “Jesus loves you.” And she took that plate of cookies to that woman at the house, and when that woman opened the door and saw the cookies and read the note, she began to cry. She cried and she cried, and over and over and over again, she said, “God bless you; God bless you. God bless you. God bless you.” That woman didn’t treat Heather the same. She treated Heather far more kindly.
Ministry took place. The extent of that ministry is known only to God, but the ministry that took place took place because of kindness. Ministry is rooted in loving kindness, and God wants us to know that. That is why the Bible says, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but have not love, I’m a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have prophetic powers and I understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and I have all faith so as to move mountains but have not love, I’m nothing. Now if I give away all that I have to the poor and deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I accomplished nothing. Poor love is patient, love is kind.” You see, apart from loving kindness, ministry is just noise. Apart from loving kindness, ministry is inept. Apart from loving kindness, ministry is nothing.
It has a ministerial effect. And kindness also has a reciprocal effect. When you give kindness away, it tends to come back to you. There’s a certain reciprocity God has built into kindness, and when you’re kind to others, you received kindness in return.
There’s an incredible story that tells of an elderly couple in the 19th century who went to the city of Philadelphia, and they went to a hotel where they wanted a room for the night. The elderly man went to the desk clerk, he introduced himself as William. The desk clerk said that his name was George. They never exchanged last names. The elderly man asked for a room for the night, and George told him that there were no rooms left. There were conventions all over the town, and there were no rooms at that hotel, and as far as he knew at any other hotel. The elderly woman began to cry, it was obvious they were desperate and so the desk clerk said, “You know, I have a room and I work nights and I sleep during the day. You’d be welcome to stay in my room tonight, it’s not as nice as the other rooms in the hotel, but you’d be welcome to use it for free.” The woman said, “God bless you.” and the elderly man said, “Thank you.” They went upstairs and they spent the night there, and the next day when they came downstairs, the elderly man went up to George and he said, “Thanks. You know, that was an awfully kind thing for you to do.” He said, “You really shouldn’t be a desk clerk. You deserve to have a hotel of your own someday. Maybe I’ll build you one.” They all laughed. George thought that was pretty funny until a year and a half later when George got a letter in the mail from New York, and again, the letter was simply signed, William. The letter invited George to come to New York City, it included the tickets for his transportation. It invited George to meet William at the corner of 5th and 34th Street in New York City. At first, George didn’t even want to go. It seemed kind of flaky, but he decided to go, and he went to New York, and he met William there at the corner of 5th and 34th. William said, “Look up at this hotel” George looked up, he had seen it as he was traveling to the site to the corner. It was an incredibly beautiful hotel, a palace built of reddish stone with turrets and watch towers. It looked like a castle built in some imaginary world. Williams said, “George, this is the hotel I built for you. I want you to manage it.” George said, “I don’t understand. Who are you that you could do this?” He said, “My name is William Waldorf Astor, and that was the original Waldorf Astoria Hotel. George had shown a little kindness and he received kindness and a much greater measure in return. George’s full name was George C. Bolt, and he became one of the most famous hotel people in all the earth. Kindness returned to him.
The Bible tells us kindness is like that, and that is why Jesus said, “Judge not. You will not be judged. Condemn not. You will not be condemned. Forgive and you shall be forgiven and give, and it shall be given to you.” When you give kindness, you receive kindness in return. You not only receive kindness from people, but if you show kindness as a Christian in this world, you will receive kindness in return from God because he looks down in this world and he looks for people who are willing to be kind.
Benjamin Franklin said, “When you are kind to others, you are best to yourself” and that is true. One day you see we’ll all stand before Christ, and if he rewards us for our kindness now, how much more will he reward us for our kindness? When you stand before Christ, if you believe in Him and you love Him, and you’ve invited Him to be your Lord and Savior, then it is promised that you will receive eternal life, but even as Christians, the Bible says our rewards will vary. As we have shown kindness to people in this life, He will show greater kindness to us then. I can promise you from the word of God that if as a Christian you have thought to show sacrificial, loving kindness towards your wife, towards your husband, towards your children, towards your neighbors, one day you’ll stand before Christ and He will say to you, “Come oh, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from before the foundation of the world because I was hungry and you gave me to eat and I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink, and I was naked, and you clothed me. I was a stranger, and you welcomed me. I was sick and imprisoned, and you visited me. And if you should say when, Lord, did I do these things for you, He will simply say, in as much as you have done them, under the least of these, my brethren, you’ve done them under me.” Let’s pray.