Be kind to one another, tenderhearted.  Ephesians 4:32

I sometimes see bumper stickers urging other drivers to practice random acts of kindness. Personally, I’m all for kindness, because it’s one of those things that makes life a happier experience, both in the giving and in the receiving. But that’s mostly kindness in the natural realm.

Christian kindness is a special kind of kindness, because it’s undeserved, just like the grace from which it flows. Christian kindness has more than just warm fuzzies at the center of it. When Christians practice kindness it is not just an outward change of behavior; it something that comes from an internal change of heart. And that makes Christian kindness unique, because it comes from the heart that has been redeemed and transformed by God in to His own likeness.

Today’s verses say, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted.” At its core, Christian kindness is tenderhearted. That is, it comes from a tender heart. It’s not a hard heart on the inside that pretends to be kind and caring on the outside. It’s not “Well, the sun is shining and I’m having a good day so I treat people kindly”. That supposes that if I’m having a rotten day I have a free pass to treat people crummy…as if they are worthless.

And that’s the message of kindness in the Bible: treating others as valuable…as having worth. Just like Jesus did.

The idea behind “tenderhearted” is that our insides are easily touched with Jesus’ own compassion and express that compassion in loving, kind behavior. When our skin is tender, it doesn’t take much to feel discomfort or pain. When our heart is tender, it feels easily and quickly.

We can’t just decide to be tenderhearted and turn it on like a light switch. It is a deep character quality that comes from the Holy Spirit. (Kindness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit–Gal 5:23.) How can we show forth this fruit to make our kindness to each other deep and heart-felt, not superficial and detached?

We’ll look at this a little bit more next time.