Active Theology

“Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” (Colossians 3:12, NLT)

I was going through the pharmacy drive-through (for the second time in a week), about to receive another round of antibiotics/medications. I had been sick for almost 4 weeks. I’ve never had a sickness take me out quite like this one has, and I was becoming increasingly discouraged each day. I was feeling like a lame mom who didn’t have much energy for her family, relying on lots of kids movies and the kindness/hard work of my husband to keep our house afloat.

Truth be told, I was in tears on the way to the pharmacy – trying to pull it together so it wouldn’t look like I had just been crying. I was growing weary from doctor’s appointments and urgent care visits. At the pharmacy, I was spoken to by such a kind pharmacist. He was so friendly. He explained my new meds with a smile and told me he hoped I’d be feeling better as I pulled away from the drive-thru. As I drove away, I cried again. This time because of how much his kindness had meant to me, in a time where I had felt very low.

I’m sure many of you have had times like this, too – when a smile from a stranger or an act of kindness is just the medicine your soul needs. Proverbs 16:24 says it best, “Kind words are like honey— sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.”

I’ve had the opposite of this happen to me, too. I remember being pregnant a few years ago, and I was having such a rough day. I was going through the drive-thru at Arby’s late at night to satisfy a craving, hoping it would make me feel a tad better. I sat at the speaker to order for a couple minutes before I drove up to the first window, assuming that it was probably broken because no one was in line and no one was taking my order. When I got to the window the drive-thru worker made me feel like a total idiot. He seemed put off by me pulling up to the window when I was supposed to stay at the speaker to order. I remember apologizing as I was ordering and feeling even worse as I left. I drove away and cried. 

I think we sometimes minimize the impact our presence in the world has on others. Maybe you minimize your job “oh, I just work fast food” or “oh, I just stay home with my kids” or “oh, I’m just insert whatever job here”. But no matter what your week is filled with, what you do matters. The way you treat people matters. As Christians, we are empowered by Christ to show God’s love to the world through our kindness. Colossians 3 begins by talking about the new life we have in Christ. We must cast off our old sinful nature and clothe ourselves with the attributes listed in Colossians 3:12, “tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience”.

We may not always know the impact our kindness is having on others, but God does. Seeds are being planted as we show others the love of God through being kind. Our kindness may be far more impactful than we will ever know.

Prayer: God, I pray you would help us to show kindness throughout our week, no matter where we find our feet planted. May we cling to you as our source of strength to be kind to others, even when we feel the world is unkind to us. Thank you for the radical kindness you have shown us in sending your Son to die for us.

Song: “God is Love” by Chris Renzema

Haley is a stay-at-home mom of 3 kids. She loves illustrating, designing, coffee dates with her husband, and teaching her children about Jesus. A few of her favorite things are Coke Zero, Peanut Butter M&M’s, and TJ Maxx.