Kindness, next up on our fruit of the Spirit march. The fruit of Kindness. Are we dropping feathers of Kindness? Kind. It’s a little bit of an old fashioned word, isn’t it? We don’t use it much or hear it much these days. But it’s really a cool word. I’ve always thought it was like the ultimate compliment, you know, they’re so Kind. It just has a celestial ring to me. Kind. Being Kind. Kindness.
So what is Kind exactly? Kind tends to get lumped in with good and while trying to separate their meanings seems like splitting hairs, they are listed as separate fruits – there must be a difference, even if very subtle. The dictionary defines Kind as “a good or benevolent nature or disposition.” We understand good to mean praiseworthy character, virtuous, righteous, the opposite of bad. Look at the next word. Benevolent. What’s that? It’s compassionate, a helper, charitable, the opposite of selfish, mean, stingy, unkind. Look at the next words, nature or disposition. That’s our character, our attitude, our inclination, what we’re partial to. A word that we’ve experienced that is closely related to Kindness is merciful. Hmmm… The Lord has certainly been Kind to us, hasn’t He?
If I had to pick characters in the Bible that best describe Kindness, today I think I’d have to pick the folks in the Book of Ruth. We might also be able to call it the Book of Kindness. The three main characters, Naomi, Ruth and Boaz, all displayed immeasurable Kindness. So we head there, grab your Bible.
We’re going to learn this week how both of Naomi’s sons married Moabite women. How Naomi thought both her daughter-in-laws treated her sons with Kindness – how many mother-in-laws would say that? Just kidding guys… We’ll see how Naomi’s Kindness opened the eyes of one of her daughter-in-laws to worship God. We’ll see how that daughter-in-law, Ruth, showed Kindness to Naomi and Boaz. We’ll see how Boaz showed Kindness to Naomi and Ruth. It’s like one big Kindnessfest! But keep in mind where this Kindness came from – Kindness means a good or benevolent nature or disposition. Remember what we read last week in Colossians? We must put on a new nature, we must strip off our old evil nature and put on some new clothes – a brand-new nature that is continually being renewed as we learn more about Christ, as we keep in step with the Spirit’s call to know and be in the will of God. Kindness does not come naturally, we’re not born Kind – we’re reborn Kind – we put on the Kindness of Christ.
Wednesday
Read the Book of Ruth. It’s four short chapters. As you read, write down the names of the people in the story. Look up the meanings of the names of these people. See anything interesting?
Thursday
Review the Book of Ruth. Write down how many times the word Kind or Kindness is used.
Write down each act of Kindness that you see.
Friday
Study Ruth 1:16-17. What caused Ruth to be so loyal to Naomi? In what way did Ruth declare her loyalty? Read 2 Samuel 15. Note the similarities between Ruth and Ittai and Naomi and King David. What’s the common denominator?
Saturday
Just as Ruth is the heroine of the Book of Ruth, Boaz is introduced as the hero of the Book of Ruth in Chapter 2. Look at Boaz’s character, his words, his actions. What kind of person was Boaz? What was Naomi’s response when she learned of Boaz?
Sunday
Look at Chapter 3. What’s happening here? What is Ruth asking? How does she ask it? What is Boaz’s response? What is Boaz’s promise to Ruth. How does he guarantee that promise?
Monday
Read Chapter 4:13-22 and Matthew 1:5. Who was Boaz? Who were his parents? Who were his children? What was his heritage? Would the family line have looked different if Boaz had not displayed Kindness to Ruth and Naomi? How so?
Tuesday
The Kindnesses of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz, along with their faithfulness, obedience, and the Lord’s blessings resulted in God’s will being done. Naomi, Ruth and Boaz moving forward without Kindness would have changed the outcome of their story. Reread the Book of Ruth and be reminded of the Kindnesses displayed and the results of those Kindnesses. Just like the players in the Book of Ruth, we must too be charitable, benevolent, compassionate, merciful to others, no matter how difficult. Naomi, Ruth and Boaz all had difficult life circumstances to overcome. Pray today that the Holy Spirit would take over your heart and enable you to change your story, to exude Kindness even in difficult times, something that cannot be done without the indwelling of the Spirit. Sweet Holy Spirit, Sweet Heavenly Dove, stay right here with us filling us with your Kindness.