Jesus wants everyone to be kind! We all get “rumpled” sometimes. Someone said something that upset us, and when we get home, we take it out on the family. Well, that’s no good. And then again, we get trampled at work and give forth a barrage of hurtful words. That’s not good either. Our emotions run high when we feel challenged, upset, or hurt by someone. It’s not a fun way to live, nor is it something we want to experience – and yet, life throws this ball at us often. But this isn’t the way of Jesus’ disciples. We’re taught something else, something far different. We’re prepared to respond just the opposite. Jesus wants everyone to be kind in their speech. Consider Colossians 4:6; our speech must be with grace, seasoned with salt, so that we’ll know how to respond to each person. Jesus talked about kindness. Luke 6:35 has this  – love your enemies, do good to them, lend, expecting nothing in return – your reward will be great, for He is kind to ungrateful and evil people. Then again, the apostle Paul has this, “Never repay evil for evil to anyone.” Much evidence points to our point: Jesus wants kindness in action and speech.

Well, not everyone is kind to us. The old eye for an eye mentality evaporated at the Sermon on the Mount. But it’s true; not everyone is kind to us. To get on top of this, we must first have our lights shining on others to give glory to God. Second, we must see that Jesus issues a warning about calling names; we can be guilty of hell-fire, Matthew 5:22. And third, in Matthew 5:39, Jesus tells us, ‘no retaliation.” And last, if we’re being persecuted, we are to give a blessing and a prayer for our antagonist, Matthew 5:44. In light of these verses, we must decide, will it be my way or His way. If you’re a Christian, you know which way to vote.

Wisdom from God abounds. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:12, “treat people the way you want them to treat you.” There’s a coin in Jesus’ words, and coins always have two sides. On one side, we give kindness to everyone we meet. We say nice, uplifting words. We endeavor to help people along their daily walk. In-kind, we hope and expect people will do the same for us. I’ve found that to be true. I don’t recall ever having someone be ugly after my act of kindness, after my words of grace. The other side of the coin is rather startling. If we’re unkind, does that mean we want unkindness in return? It’s a hazardous proposition. Once again, are we Jesus’ disciples, or are we something different?

Can we lose our souls over this? Well, yes. We are in danger of hell anytime we fail a command. According to 1 John 3:4, anyone who transgresses a law is sinning – and Jesus’ words, His commandments are law. We know we are out of bounds with our Father when we sin, which is dangerous. We are to repent and depend on God’s mercy to forgive our sins. Fortunately, He promises to do so, 1 John 1:9. So consider, there may be someone around us who is an often-unkind person. He rubs us the wrong way, grates on our nerves, takes advantage of every opportunity to cut us, and we get sick to think we must endure him one more day. We’ve probably all experienced this person. If he’s so ugly, can we retaliate? No. We know the scriptures. We are to pray for him, not responding in kind, for we know we must not repay evil for evil. To do sin would constitute sin, and we don’t want that. So, we are kind to him, praying for him – often, so our grace will influence him toward Jesus. Others will see your grace and glorify God for your shining light. Learn, practice. Do not sin. He isn’t worth our souls.

Jesus is reconstituting our minds. Romans 12:2 gives a tool to relieve our dilemma. Our mind is renewed so that we do not act like the world, so do not be conformed to this world. Instead, let Jesus guide our minds into peaceful righteousness. And that means we allow His word to give us peace as it dwells within us. Let the peace of God rule in your hearts! See Colossians 3:15-16. Seriously. Allowing our Father’s words to wash over us gives peace only He can provide. Don’t be anxious about the antagonist. Instead, cast him, and your anxiety upon the Lord for He cares for us, 1 Peter 5:7. Humble yourself to God, and He will lift you up. Remember, we are never alone. The Lord is always with us, Hebrews 13:5. Learn the word; practice it; make it a part of your heart, mind, and soul, and your body will respond in a godly way.

We don’t have to play by his rules. Please think of this; we don’t have to be a part of his ugliness. This is a good tool for anyone. IF our spouse is ugly, we don’t have to join in. Likewise, if our supervisor is ugly, we don’t have to join his ugly party. If a coworker is ugly, don’t join his misery. Working in God’s wisdom affords the grace and peace of God to flow through our bodies. It’s Biblical, and it’s a better way to live.