Kindness Over Ugliness

Extending kindness when you want to clobber someone is not always the easiest thing in the world. We can see (by watching the news or by reading Facebook posts) being a kind person is next to impossible for some people to grasp. They tend to show their inner ugliness by how they respond to what is going on around them.

As Christians, we are supposed to act different than the world. Check yourself. How are you treating these “Negative Nellies”? Do you give it right back to them the way they hand it out? OR is your response a Christlike response? They call you an ugly name, so you call them one back, or you become the bigger person and know when to walk away? Do you still act as if you are in Junior High School or are you giving wisdom that is actually helpful?

When we are told by Jesus in Matthew 10:8, “give as freely as you have received.” He was talking about giving back good to people, because you had received good. He was not saying to return evil for evil. Giving grace to others has no limits. It should always be active in our lives.

We actually received grace from God, not because we deserved it, but because God freely gave it to those that believe. We take no credit for a gift when it is given, we just accept it. If we were judged by how we behave, there would be no gift…only judgement.

We should make it a habit to extend grace to others, not because they “deserve” it, but because it is the right thing to do. Meet the ugliness with honest, kind and helpful responses or no response at all.

Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT

[8] God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. [9] Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. #paulaandthebible #helpforyourdailywalk