Love is Kind

“Love cares more for others than for self.” (The Message, 1 CO 13:4)

Impatience is a result of being focused on my needs. Kindness focuses on the needs of others, and therefore waits patiently. It doesn’t pressure someone to make a decision or do something before they are ready. Kindness seeks to understand the other person’s perspective. Kindness also understands that others are vulnerable to making mistakes and extends grace and forgiveness when offended.

I think I will be more successful at waiting patiently for answers to prayer when I keep my focus off myself and onto God and the needs of others. Kindness cares about how my actions will affect the other person. Therefore, if kindness is in operation, I will stop to prayerfully consider how my words or actions will impact others and let the Lord guide what I say and do, and when I speak or act.

1 Peter 3 speaks to wives, husbands, and then to all believers. These are good examples of kindness in action. I will be quoting from verses 1-6 of The Message version. “Be good wives to your husbands, responsive to their needs.” (The emphasis is mine.) “Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in.”

Kindness is considerate and gentle, not pushy or demanding. Kindness is gracious (extending grace and forgiveness when offended). Kindness is loyal (not saying negative things about one person to another).

The kind husband honors and delights in his wife, treating her as an equal, considering her opinions as carefully as he does his own, and showing her warm affection.

To everyone, the Lord says, “Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble.” Bless them. Treat people with “…utmost courtesy…” regardless of how they treat us. (1 Peter 3:8-18, The Message).

Love is kind…patience is kind…kindness is patient.

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