Have you ever thought of kindness as distinct from love? I never really thought about it until the subject came up in our Sunday School class. We were discussing the list of personal qualities found in the New Testament book of 2nd Peter, chapter one: goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. Our teacher made the observation that if this is a sequential list, then kindness comes before love.
I think we make deliberate decisions to be kind, regardless of how we’re feeling at the time. We make these decisions because we know there are single moms who really need and value our expression of compassion. Our awesome volunteers make these choice decisions to express kindness, often in the face of straining work schedules and adverse health conditions.
Beyond the Walls oil change for single moms gives us a vehicle for this deliberate kindness. A simple oil change is a tangible expression of kindness. If our kindness has the right motive then it cannot help but erupt in genuine love.
I love how the Message Bible reads, “So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others.”
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