Adding Kindness

DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER OF PETER

2 Peter 1:5-9

5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

NIV

Here we go again, adding one more quality or character tract to our lives. We know that we are to be extremely diligent to add to our faith, goodness or virtue, that high moral standard and to that goodness, we are to add knowledge of the divine nature within us and to that we need to add being in control of ourselves as well as this patient endurance while we wait for His return and to that perseverance, godliness, which we understand is having reverence toward God. Now we have to add brotherly kindness. This is Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love, type kindness. Here is one of those traits or qualities which we are required to have specifically toward each other. What this would entail is not causing any harm to each other. If we are kind toward each other then we never say anything which would cause someone harm. This is directly or indirectly as in the form of gossip. But this being kind is not just a passive directive, that is not doing something to harm another, but it seems to be an active, or an action we are to exhibit toward each other. That is we are show kindness, not just think to be kind. But how do we show kindness? What does kindness look like? It might fit well with this building each other up until we reach unity in the faith. It might well fit to encourage one another daily, as the writer of the letter to the Hebrews tells us or to encourage the weak or timid among us as Paul writes to the Thessalonians. This is more than not harming someone, which is passive. This is going out, extending ourselves to actively seeking to exhibit kindness. It might be as simple as writing a note or sharing our thoughts regarding the word of God. There can be several forms of building each other up, but it seems that is the intent of kindness. So let us add this, or make every effort to show kindness, to build, encourage, not tear down or destroy. This would also require not thinking more highly of ourselves then we should, but being humble toward each other. We also have to remember, as we will get to soon, that all these qualities are to ever be increasing within us. In other words, kindness is not something we can just have, we have to always be growing in kindness. So we know we always have room to improve in our acts of kindness.