As promised...A study on kindness

For those of you who are truly committed blog readers, this is long...but worth every word!!!

KINDNESS

Some scriptures having to do with the issue of kindness.

Ephesians 4:29-32 “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. ”

Colossians 4:6 “Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”

Proverbs 19:22 “What is desirable in a man is his kindness, and it is better to be a poor man than a liar.”

Proverbs 31:26 “She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.”

Ephesians 4:15 “But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,”

Psalm 141:3 “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.”

James 3:5-12 “So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.”

Proverbs 1:4 “A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but perversion in it crushes the spirit.”

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Due to it's close association with kind words, we did a study on WHOLESOME.

(Does not appear in the NASB, so no Greek...)

Wholesome – 1. Tending to promote health; favoring health; salubrious; as wholesome air or diet; a wholesome climate. 2. Sound; contributing to the health of the mind; favorable to morals, religion or prosperity; as wholesome advice; wholesome doctrines; wholesome truths.

__Salubrious - Favorable to health; healthful; promoting health.

__Salutary – 1. Wholesome; healthful; promoting health. Diet and exercise are salutary to men of sedentary habits. 2. Promotive of public safety; contributing to some beneficial purpose. The strict discipline of youth has a salutary effect on society.

__Virtue – Moral goodness; the practice of moral duties and the abstaining from vice, or a conformity of life and conversation to the moral law.

____Vice – Any moral unfitness of conduct, either from defect of duty, or from the transgression or known principles or rectitude.

______Rectitude – In morality, righteousness of principle or practice; uprightness of mind; exact conformity to truth or the rules prescribed for moral conduct. Rectitude of mind is the disposition to act in conformity to any known standard of right, truth or justice; rectitude of conduct is the actual conformity to such a standard.

________Disposition – Temper or natural constitution of the mind; the temper or frame of mind.

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and WHOLESOMENESS

(Does not appear in the NASB, so no Greek...)

Wholesomeness - The quality of contributing to health; salubrious; as the wholesomeness of air or diet.

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and UNWHOLESOME

Greek
σαπρός saprose (sä-pro's)
rotten, putrefied; corrupted by one and no longer fit for use, worn out; of poor quality, bad, worthless.

Unwholesome - 1. Not wholesome; unfavorable to health; insalubrious; as unwholesome air or food. 2. Pernicious; as unwholesome advice. Taking away from the health of the mind.

__Insalubrious – Unfavorable to health; unhealthful; promoting health.

__Pernicious - 1. Destructive; having the quality of killing, destroying or injuring; very injurious or mischievous. Food, drink or air may be pernicious to life or health. 2. Destructive; tending to injure or destroy.

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and looked quickly at EDIFICATION

Edification – the advancement of excellence; virtuousness; proficiency toward wisdom and healthy learning; literally creating a framework to improve morally and intellectually.

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and now KINDNESS

Hebrew:
חסד checed (kheh'·sed)
mercy, kindness, lovingkindness, goodness, kindly, merciful, favour, good, goodliness, pity, reproach, wicked thing

Greek:
φιλαδελφία philadelphia (fē-lä-del-fē'-ä)
Love of brothers or sisters, brotherly love; in the NT the love which Christians cherish for each other as brethren.

φιλανθρωπία philanthrōpia (fē-län-thrō-pē'-ä)
love of mankind, benevolence

χρηστότης chrēstotēs (khrā-sto'-tās)
Moral goodness, integrity; benignity, kindness.

Kindness - 1. Good will; benevolence; that temper or disposition which delights in contributing to the happiness of others, which is exercised cheerfully in gratifying their wishes, supplying their wants or alleviating their distresses; benignity of nature. Kindness ever accompanies love. 2. Act of good will; beneficence; any act of benevolence which promotes the happiness or welfare of others. Charity, hospitality, attentions to the wants of others, &c., are deemed acts of kindness, or kindnesses.

__Benevolence - 1. The disposition to do good; good will; kindness; charitableness; the love of mankind, accompanied with a desire to promote their happiness. 2. An act of kindness; good done.

____Disposition – Temper or natural constitution of the mind; the temper or frame of mind.

__Cheerful - 1. Lively; animated; having good spirits; moderately joyful. 2. Expressive of good spirits or joy; lively; animated.

__Benign - 1. Kind; of a kind disposition; gracious; favorable.

__Beneficence - Doing good; performing acts of kindness and charity. It differs from benign, as the act from the disposition; beneficence being benignity or kindness exerted in action.

__Action - In ethics, the external signs or expression of the sentiments of a moral agent; conduct; behavior; demeanor; that is, motion or movement, with respect to a rule or propriety.

__Charity - 1. In a general sense, love, benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good.

__Hospitality - The act or practice of receiving and entertaining strangers or guests without reward, or with kind and generous liberality.

____Liberality - A particular act of generosity; a donation; a gratuity.

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and KIND

Greek:
φύσις physis (fü'-sēs)
Nature, natural, kind, mankind, nature; the sum of innate properties and powers by which one person differs from others, distinctive native peculiarities, natural characteristics: the natural strength, ferocity, and intractability of beasts.

χρηστεύομαι chrēsteuomai (khrā-styü'-o-mī)
To show one's self mild, to be kind, use kindness.

χρηστός chrēstos (khrā-sto's)
Fit, fit for use, useful; virtuous, good; manageable; mild, pleasant (as opp. to harsh, hard sharp, bitter); of things: more pleasant, of people: more kind, benevolent.

Kind - 1. Disposed to do good to others, and to make them happy by granting their requests, supplying their wants or assisting them in distress; having tenderness or goodness of nature; benevolent; benignant. 2. Proceeding from tenderness or goodness of heart; benevolent; as a kind act; a kind return of favors.

__Illustrious - 1. Conspicuous; distinguished by the reputation of greatness; renowned; eminent; as an illustrious general or magistrate; an illustrious prince. 2. Conspicuous; renowned; conferring honor; as illustrious actions. 3. Glorious; as an illustrious display of the divine perfections. 4. A title of honor.

__Disposed - 2. To regulate; to adjust; to set in right order. 4. To set, place or turn to a particular end or consequence. 6. To set the mind in a particular frame; to incline. Avarice disposes men to fraud and oppression.

__Dispose - 1. Disposition; cast of behavior. 2. Disposition; cast of mind; inclination. 3. Natural fitness or tendency. 4. Inclination; propensity; the temper or frame of mind, as directed to particular objects.

__Distress - Affliction; calamity; misery.

__Tenderness - The state of being tender or easily broken. (pride ?) 2. Kind attention; anxiety for the good of another, or to save him from pain. 3. Softness of expression; pathos.

____Broken - Contrition; as brokenness of heart.

______Contrition - 1. The act of grinding or rubbing to powder. 2. Penitence; deep sorrow for sin; grief of heart for having offended an infinitely holy and benevolent God.

__Goodness - 1. The moral qualities which constitute christian excellence; moral virtue; religion. 2. Kindness; benevolence; benignity of heart; but more generally, acts of kindness; charity; humanity exercised. 3. Kindness; benevolence of nature; mercy. 4. Kindness; favor shown; acts of benevolence, compassion or mercy.

__Nature - 1. The established or regular course of things. 2. The essence, essential qualities or attributes of a thing, which constitute it what it is.

__Benevolence - 1. The disposition to do good; good will; kindness; charitableness; the love,of mankind, accompanied with a desire to promote their happiness. 2. An act of kindness; good done.

__Favor - A kind act or office; kindness done or granted; benevolence shown by word or deed; any act of grace or good will, as distinguished from acts of justice.

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The definitions I came up with based on my studies:

Kind - state of character in which one earnestly desires to do good to others, that results in actions of kindness.

Kindness – actions of goodness and tenderness for the good of another.

Unwholesomeness – That which is not only not good for one, but destructive to moral, spiritual and physical states.

Wholesome – Moral uprightness that contributes to the good health of the mind and development of character. (to build up the mind in knowledge faith and holiness)

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A fascinating discovery: based on all the study we did on kind vs. kindness, we came to a most interesting conclusion. The word KIND refers to a state of being, a state of existance if you will, in which your CHARACTER possesses the traits that are enacted as kindness. The word KINDNESS refers not to a state of character, but rather a form of action. I always equated the two words as being the same. Shows what study will do: prove how little I really know! I love to learn!!!

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Another interesting note...my least favorite part of all...in the study of the word kind, the definition refers to "having tenderness or goodness of nature" So when I looked up tenderness, it led to broken, and broken on to contrition. Did you look at the definition of the word contrition? I honestly think I have found my new least favored word. I don't like that word. In case you skipped through and didn't read it all, or maybe you read the whole thing and forgot what it said, or maybe you didn't skip through you just jumped right to the end, I will remind you what contrition means: 1. The act of grinding or rubbing to powder. 2. Penitence; deep sorrow for sin; grief of heart for having offended an infinitely holy and benevolent God. Yes. Brokenness of heart, of pride, of self. That is a hard thing to let happen. But to be kind, I must be tender, to be tender I must be broken, and to be broken, I must be contrite. So, in my quest for kindness, I was once again led back to the heart of the issue: the sinful heart of me. And since I strive to be more kind, guess what it means? I have be ground to powder, broken, tender, HUMBLE, and then I can be kind. Wow, see? I told you that you would be amazed. I never thought kindness would lead me there. But as I have learned, to be kind, I have to have a change of heart. Being kind is not kindness, not just the nice actions, it is a character state. A heart condition. Something I am far from...

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And so now, persevering blog reader, you have read what I have learned (In my head) and have a glimpse of what I now face in my pursuit if being KIND.

But, to you faithful few who read all the way, you now possess my utmost respect, for wading through this wonderful stuff and now being accountable, like I am, as to what being KIND really means.