Daily Devotions
Kindness Doesn't Wait
Reading for December 11th: Philippians 1-4
...it was kind of you to share in my trouble.
Philippians 4:14
To be kind is to take initiative. Kindness sees a need and acts. It looks for opportunities to be of service. Kindness has antennas that are always up, sensitive to the needs of others.
Kindness is proactive, not reactive in nature. Kindness doesn't wait to be served. It doesn't merely reciprocate the kindness of others. It wants to be the first to serve. A good deed based on reciprocity is just another form of selfishness. Doing good deeds with the hope of receiving the same in kind, makes us no different from the world (Matthew 5:46).
Jesus said when we give a banquet we should not invite our friends or brothers or rich neighbors because they would invite us back. He said we should invite the poor, crippled, lame, and blind who cannot repay (Luke 14:12-14). Feeding the poor is kindness. Feeding the rich is self-serving.
Don't wait to be shown kindness. Make it a personal challenge today to be the first to greet, the first to compliment, the first to serve, the first to give in, the first to forgive.
Father God, you took the initiative in your kindness to us, help us to extend the same kindness to others.
