Kindness – what does it mean?

So, one of the goals of this blog and of my life is to spread some kindness around the world.  It’s a pretty simple idea.  I know how I would like to be treated, and kindness for me means something like the golden rule.  Not necessarily huge sacrifice, but just being nice to people I meet.  Sometimes I can get too philosophical about topics that don’t require it, so let me know if you think I am getting too bogged down with the details.

There are some actions that seem like they would always be considered kind.  For example, letting someone merge in front of you in traffic, cleaning up after yourself at a restaurant or friend’s house are pretty much always considered to be a kindness.

Other actions seem tougher.  Is it more kind to comfort your friend, or confront her about her choice of abusive boyfriend?  If you asked her, she might say she would prefer you help her figure out how to make her relationship with this boyfriend more successful.  Sometimes I think I don’t so much listen to what someone else needs from me, but rather impose my own ideas on them in ways that can seem disrespectful or demeaning.

Maybe it will help to think about why I want to be more kind.  One main reason is that I feel it fits in with my goal of spreading the kind of love that Christ has for people with the rest of the world.  Part of it is because I feel it’s a good start toward making peace with people.  I don’t try to be kind to someone so I can hammer home how great Jesus is, but because I want them to feel like they matter.  That does sound kind of lofty.  That’s why I want people to treat me kindly though.  I want to believe that I matter and that I have worth. 

Also, I think a habit of being kind will hopefully reduce my temptation to be hurtful and selfish.  I hope that I will be less likely to laugh at someone when they mess up.  I hope that I will be more likely to offer support that is genuine.  I hope I will learn to love people that annoy me.  I’ll keep you posted.