“Seeking Wisdom, Trusting God”

Be Kindhearted

God says be kindhearted

 Proverbs 11:16-17 states:
 
               "A kindhearted woman gains respect,

                      but ruthless men gain only wealth.
                A kind man benefits himself,

                      but a cruel man brings trouble on himself."
 
It is interesting that Holy Spirit directed our T-shirt and brochures to use the word "kindhearted" vs "kind".  A difference that only recently was revealed.  
 
The reason may be the subtle differences between the two words "kind" and "kindhearted" and Proverbs 4:23:

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."

One can be kind to others without being kindhearted. Being kind can be taught as one says "Thank you", "No, thank you", "I am sorry" or "Let me know if I can help."  But matters of the heart are much deeper. The other person knows that you are not just saying the words, but that your heart is reaching out to his. You truly care about him and want the very best.
 

Now, the bigger challenge.  How can men develop their heart so that they may be "kindhearted" to family, friends, co-workers, and strangers?  The answer is Love.  Jesus commanded us to

"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself."

Matthew 22:37-38.

Think about that. Isn’t that the Secret to Life – to love God, Our Creator, and to have a passion to serve Him?   That is the LORD part of accepting Jesus as both LORD and Savior.   But how can we love God?  We know how to love our wife and children, to hold them in our arms, to spend time with them, to want to please them.  But God – how can we love him?

1 John 5:3 says “This is love for God; to obey His commands.”  Now we know!   It is that simple to understand; yet it is  difficult to do.

 The world does not teach love of others; it teaches love of self.  To learn love, we must spend time in the Bible and in prayer.  We must grow spiritually in fellowship with others.  We must belong to a church family, bonded together in love.  We must be quiet and listen to the Holy Spirit.  We must spend time with God; quality time alone.

In our front hall, we have a plaque, that greets me every morning:

“Make time for the quiet moments

as God whispers and the world is loud.”….

It was not a mistake or oversight when four years ago, the Holy Spirit inspired the words "Be Kindhearted" in the margin of my Bible. 

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