The Character of God - God is Kind

Whenever I write a post about a specific word, my first stop is always the dictionary. Of course I know "kind" isn't just an adjective, it's also a noun, but the two meanings got me thinking. The noun "kind" means "having similar characteristics". The adjective "kind" means  "to be of a good or benevolent nature, and in 1 Corinthians 13, the word "kind" comes from the Greek work chrestos, which means mild or pleasant versus harsh or bitter.

For me, this means that God himself follows the Golden Rule, that he treats us the way he himself would like to be treated. That he desires good for us and is always actively working towards that ultimate good. That he is gentle in his treatment of us, not harsh, or bitter in his actions.

But "kind" also reminds me that we can grow to "have similar characteristics" of God (that is, we can grow to love), and like the German word kinder, we are his children. God thinks of us as part of himself, and in the same way one prefers himself to others, God treats us with indulgence.

Now, many people will look at common theology and say, "God isn't kind, he _______." And in many cases, however we fill-in that blank, God isn't kind. My proposal is that instead of rethinking God, we need to rethink our theology. If any of us believes that something about God's actions aren't kind, we need to go back to the Bible and study to learn what God's actions really are. Hint: If you have seen Jesus, you have seen the Father.

The Character of God - God is Patient

"For they loving kindness is before my eyes, and I have walked in thy truth." Psalm 26:3 KJV

I think most Christians accept the fact that God is love, but I think we don't often understand what that love is. One of the most startling things I ever did was apply the principles of 1 Corinthians 13 to God's character:

God is patient and kind, not jealous, not boastful, not proud, rude or selfish, not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs. God isn't gleeful when people suffer because of their sins, but delights in truth. Love always bears up, always trust, always hopes, always endured. God's love never ends.

God is patient, or long-suffering, able to accept or tolerate delays, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious. He waits for us to know him and understand him, and doesn't become annoyed or anxious when we fail.

The timeline God operates on is so vastly different from ours. What is a lifetime for us is only a moment to him. When we look at ourselves or others, we often want instant improvement, but God sees us in terms of eternity. We need to be more patient with others, and ourselves, and keep eternity in mind.



 

1 Timothy 5

"If a widow has family members to take care of her, let them learn that religion begins at their own doorstep and that they should pay back with gratitude some of what they have received. This pleases God immensely." 1 Timothy 5:4 The Message

 In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus had some pretty harsh words for people who didn't take care of their parents, but instead gave their money to the church. "Making void the word of God for the sake of your tradition." Mark 7:9 KJV

This seems to be the same sentiment offered by Paul here in Timothy. Charity begins at home.

The concept at first sounds pretty simple, but it has far-reaching implications, for us as individuals, for churches, communities, and even entire nations.

Do you give money to the church for evangelism, or spend what you have first on taking care of your immediate family, then the needs of your local community? I would say do both, but if you commit to evangelism while neglecting your own family and your local community, God isn't pleased.

As a nation, do we invest in the poor and homeless we have within our borders, or those seeking to enter? This has been a huge debate lately, and as with evangelism, one should try to do both, but the Bible is clear the priority needs to be one's own community.

I would like to take care of the world, but for me as an individual, that isn't realistic. The imperative to take care of one's own family and community first is actually something of a relief. If I have done my best for those closest to me, God finds that to be enough. For someone who is always struggling with feelings of inadequacy, and overwhelmed with the problems in the world, it brings a great sense of peace.

Brighten the corner where you are.

Ecclesiastes 3

"I know that there is noting better for them, than to rejoice, and to do good so long as they live, and also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labor, it is the gift of God." Ecclesiastes 3: 12,13 American Standard Version

There is the person we aspire to be, then there is the person we are.

For many of us, this gap drives our lives, always trying to be better, always trying to do more.

But God is consonantly reminding me that all my striving is in vain, in other words, doesn't lead to fulfillment, happiness, or salvation, and nowhere is this brought up more beautifully then here in Ecclesiastes 3.

There is a time for everything, and in the end, there is nothing better for us than to rejoice, and to do good so long as we live.

We make mistakes.

Move on.

We fall short of our goals.

Move on.

We're chubby, out-of-shape, behind on dozens of projects, short on cash, sometimes foolish and sometimes hurtful.


Eat and drink, and rejoice in the good that comes our way.

Psalm 25

"Pardon my iniquity, which is great." Psalm 25:11

Sometimes I feel guilty about not feeling guilty.

Hear me out. I gave my heart to God when I was young, and I have tried my entire life to walk in the way God would want me to. This means I can't look back on my life and see an abundance of things I would call bad.

I wonder how many other people feel the same way. "I'm not so bad."

I know what you're expecting. Me to come to some revelation that I really am bad, because that's what we're supposed to do as Christians, look down on ourselves, but I don't think that is how God wants us to live. To the contrary, I feel grateful that God has been so good to me and that I've been able to life my life in peace and do the good God has called me to do.

That doesn't mean I feel my "good" life has in any way earned me a ticket to heaven. Far from it. Anything good in my life is as much a gift as salvation.

I am reminded of the verse Isaiah 64:6 "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags."


In case you weren't aware, the filthy rags mentioned are the menstrual rags women would use during their periods. Think used tampon, and that image is not a picture of the bad things we do, but the good things we do. Always tainted with selfishness, always imperfect.

So no, I don't run around feeling guilty all the time. I am a child of God, adopted and loved and forgiven.

Leviticus 20

I don't believe God punishes people, or rewards good behavior. If that were the case, bad people would all be living in misery, and good people would have everything going their way.

But the crimes and punishments listed in Leviticus 20 are very real, and people have been "cut off from their people" and "put to death" for millennia for committing the listed offenses. Some of the crimes were undoubtedly horrific. Others seem less so, although, as I've written before, I can see from a historical context where many of the laws clearly benefited the tribe, if not individuals.

I am not going to look back in time to primitive cultures and say the way things should or should not have been. I am only glad that a way of escape has been made for those who experience for themselves God's love and are changed by it.

1 Timothy 4

"Make an effort to exercise godliness in addition to exercising your body. Remember your body will grow old and die, but behaving like God is good not only for the here and now, but in the life that is to come." 1 Timothy 4: 7 & 8 (paraphrase)

Apparently, the ancient Greeks and Romans knew the benefits of exercise, and encouraged physical activity in daily life. Seneca the Younger spoke of running and weight lifting, although he was no fan of exercising himself, and the gladiator schools had very specific 4-day training cycles that sound a lot like modern regimes.

For years I enjoyed working out to my way-fun 90s exercise videos. I still like the videos, and exercising, but my bad neck has made me leery of hopping up and down on a step with weights in my hands. One bad move and I can be in horrible pain for days, or even weeks.

That is why I find such comfort in Paul's words. In the King James Version, he says "bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that is now, and of that which is to come."

I like to think of my "soul" as software, and my body as hardware. My hardware is already outdated, and will soon be worthless, but God has a back-up of my thoughts, memories, and character uploaded in The Cloud. Someday the essence of who I am will be reinstalled into new, upgraded hardware. I am looking forward to that day

We are to build for the here and now, but more importantly, our lives need to be guided by love and kindness, because the effects of how we treat others is what lasts.