Sermon: July 6, 2008
"The Fruit of the Spirit is...Kindness"
(scripture references are clickable)
We’re continuing our summer sermon series on the Fruit of the Spirit, the nine virtues Paul says a Christian will produce in the power of the Holy Spirit as we shed the old life, with its acts of the sinful nature, and live into the new, abundant life that is ours in Christ Jesus. We’ve already looked at the first half of that list, examining the virtues of love, joy, peace and patience. We’ve seen how these differ from the world’s values and how they all link together. Today, we’re looking at the fifth virtue on this list: kindness. The Fruit of the Spirit is kindness.
And as usual, we have to spend some time defining that word. For in our English usage, we have watered that down into something rather insipid. Kindness for many people means no more than simply being nice. And while there’s nothing wrong with being nice, the Spirit’s fruit of kindness is so much more than that. In the Old Testament, this word “kindness”, hesed, is a full, rich word that means not only kindness, but love, mercy, grace and loyalty. And you can immediately see the problem here of trying to separate these virtues – for how can one separate kindness from love? In fact, in some older translations, this was usually rendered as “loving kindness”, no doubt in an attempt to remedy this problem. In the New Testament, the Greek word chrestotes, the word Paul uses in our Galatians passage, means not only kindness but also goodness and mercy. Chrestotes was often used to describe an old wine, one which was mellow and sweet, not harsh. Jesus used this word when He said that his yoke was chrestos, often translated “easy”. Similarly, when the sinful woman washed and anointed Jesus’ feet, He was said to show chrestotes or kindness to her.
So kindness is much more than niceness. It’s much more than simply being pleasant and sweet. This is a costly kindness Paul is talking about; this is a kindness that invests itself in people, a kindness which invests time and energy, even when it doesn’t want to, even when it gets nothing in return. This is not an insipid, soft, sentimental kindness. You won’t find it in a Hallmark card or a made-for-TV movie. It’s not the passing, flippant “kindness” one finds in society today. No, this is a courageous, selfless virtue which involves integrity, faithfulness and respect. This is kindness as a way of life, as a way of living and thinking – not just kindness toward someone who is kind to me, but kindness toward everyone because that’s the way we should live. And friends, that kind of kindness is not easy!
For there are people in this world – and perhaps you know some of them – who seem to go out of their way to make kindness difficult. There are people we’d like to show anything but kindness to. And yet, this kind of kindness, the kindness that Paul cites as the Fruit of the Spirit, is a virtue that does not discriminate. This virtue doesn’t disappear when things get hard. This kindness is an investment in people, through good times and hard times. It suffers with people. It shows mercy. It’s gracious. This is love in action. This is kindness no matter what. And of course, we know that this virtue is simply beyond our ability. Like with the other virtues we’ve looked at – love, joy, peace, patience – kindness is simply not natural. In fact, it’s decidedly unnatural. That’s why it’s called the Fruit of the Spirit, with the emphasis on Spirit. For we only gain this Fruit in His power, as He works in our lives, changing us into the people we ought to be. The Spirit works within us to make us holy. And the more we live in Him, the more we produce this fruit – and ultimately, the more we have life.
We see an example of this kind of godly kindness in our second Scripture reading for today, the story of David and Mephibosheth. By this point in David’s story, he is finally the undisputed king of Israel. The long and bitter battle with Saul and his family is over. David now sits on the throne and has consolidated power. But long before this, David had made a promise to Saul’s son Jonathan, to “show . . . unfailing kindness like that of the Lord” to Jonathan and his family, and to “not ever cut off (his) kindness from (Jonathan’s) family – not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth” (1 Samuel 20:14-15, NIV). Now, this promise between David and Jonathan was made in secret. And Jonathan was dead, so there was no one around to hold David to his promise. Now that he was undisputed king, he could have chosen to simply ignore what he had said. But David was faithful and loyal; David had integrity. And so he asked “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” (2 Samuel 9:1, NIV, emphasis added).
Most of Saul’s family was dead by this point, but one of Jonathan’s sons was still alive – a crippled man named Mephibosheth. As a boy, he had been dropped by his nurse as they fled during Saul’s downfall. And now, he lived in exile, totally dependant upon others. He lived in hiding, for as long as he was alive, he was a threat to David’s throne. It was typical of the times for a king of a new dynasty to exterminate everyone in the old royal family. Then you never had to worry about someone rising up and trying to claim the throne at your expense. So when Mephibosheth was summoned to court, this was not good news. He probably thought that this was the end.
But David wasn’t vindictive. He didn’t seek vengeance. He didn’t gloat. He wasn’t haughty or condescending. He had every right to be, for Saul’s family had made his life miserable for years. But instead, David showed hesed to Mephibosheth. Because of his promise to Jonathan, David showed kindness – lavish, merciful kindness to one who could have been called his enemy, one whose very life called into question his throne. With a word, David restored all of Mephibosheth’s family estates; with a word, Mephibosheth was instantly wealthy again. He even needed a whole family of stewards to run his estates! Moreover, David promised that Mephibosheth would always have a place at his table, effectively giving the young man a pension for life. Mephibosheth would always eat the best of the best at the king’s table; he was guaranteed a place of prestige and importance. Friends, that’s what Paul means when he says that the Fruit of the Spirit is kindness. That’s the kind of costly kindness, the undeserved mercy, the love in action he was talking about. That’s the kind of lavish kindness we are called to have in the power of the Spirit, even for those who are not kind to us, even to our enemies. And indeed, this kindness takes Mephibosheth’s breath away, that David of all people would choose to invest himself in one who by all rights was his enemy. And that’s how we are called to live.
For we see today a demonstration of this kindness at the Table. This is the lavish, costly kindness the Lord has shown to us, my friends. We were His enemies because of sin, but He did not let that stand in His way. Instead, He invested Himself in us. He was merciful and faithful, even giving His life for us. And today we are called to have that same gracious kindness; this is the strong, rigorous, lavish, costly kindness we are to have for each other, no matter what. And I know, that takes a strength we do not have. It takes more than we can possibly will up within us. It takes the power of One greater. And praise the Lord, here at the Table, we are strengthened for kindness, strengthened in our calling to live in the power of the Spirit, through whom we commune with our Lord Jesus Christ.
So take strength from the Lord today, my friends. Resolve to practice kindness, even toward those who are not kind in return. Think of specific people; listen to the Lord as He lays them on your heart. And then go forth and be obedient. As we practice love, joy, peace and patience, let us also practice this great kindness. Let us make it a conscious choice, a life-long goal, knowing that only in the power of the Holy Spirit is this possible. But friends, the good news is – it is possible! So let us be like David, showing kindness to the Mephibosheths in our lives. And let us strive to have the same kindness for others that Christ has shown to us. And as always, to God alone be the glory!