Love is Kind
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.​

MESSAGE:
In the video game Fable, players are responsible for raising up their warrior to be moral or devious. Something as simple as finding lost items for townsfolk or giving money puts a halo around your head as people cheer your name. Likewise, you can kick chickens, run naked through the town, fart in front of ladies, and steal produce to earn devil horns and people throwing trash at you. Two radically different ways to play results in two different endings. 

Kindness seems like a no-brainer in today’s society. You get more flies with honey than vinegar. Sales people must be kind if they want to sell cars. Politicians must be kind (to their voters) if they want to ensure votes. Even kidnappers must be kind to lure in their victims. Kindness is universal. The problem is not remembering to be kind. The problem is remembering to be kind to EVERYBODY. 

Jesus’ preaching on love includes three very kind gestures that are on the hardest difficulty. If someone demands something you own you give it to them. If someone demands an errand from you then you serve them. And if someone who hates you needs help you help them. I hated every part of that list because it seems so anti-independent, anti-boundary, and anti-American.

We are not being radically kind because we are weak and easy to bully. Even if we have unlimited power we would still be required to do this. We do it because God’s love is radically different. Jesus also believes that you get more flies with honey and that is the difference maker. Kindness is a magnet that lowers prejudice, self-defense, and stereotypes, so that people can get a true picture of how much God loves them. Your enemies will feel dumb for hating you (if they have common sense), your bullies will see that you are different, and the world will see that you are free from the constraints of stubbornness, bitterness, and fear.

Kind people are the strongest people you will ever meet.
Research: Luke 6:27-31
Why is kindness and niceness toward friends so easy? Why is kindness toward “jerks” so difficult?

What outcome is Jesus expecting when kindness is shown to very difficult people? 

How do you feel when you have to be nice/kind/courteous to someone who doesn’t deserve it? How do you get over that feeling?

“Madam, do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”– Abraham Lincoln