If I remember correctly, in the story of the Grinch who stole Christmas, the Grinch’s heart is portrayed as cold as stone. His cold heart causes him to act harshly toward others, going so far as stealing Christmas presents and decorations. Then he is moved to kindness in giving to someone else. Suddenly his cold heart is warmed and he goes about sharing kindness with everyone.
The Grinch’s story is a classic one because we all want to be shown kindness. While we all want to receive kindness, we are not always quick to show kindness to others. We need a heart transplant. We need a warm heart to replace our sometimes cold heart.
Unfortunately we are who we are and it is difficult to change. Selfishness and self-centeredness urge us to protect ourselves, keeping us from reaching out to assist others. We don’t realize that we hurt ourselves by failing to give kindness. Proverbs 11:17 says, “A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself.” Besides the obvious benefits our kindness gives to others, kindness also benefits the giver. When we sow kindness, we will reap kindness and our hearts will be inevitably warmed.
We will need help in becoming consistently kind people. It begins by tapping into the inexhaustible well of God’s kindness toward us. Ephesians 2:7 says, “So that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” We must accept God’s kindness in the salvation He provided in Jesus. Then our new hearts are filled with His kindness, and the kindness pipeline is opened for us to receive and pass onto others. Our new hearts pour out the love and kindness of God.
Reluctant Retiree 