Never Leave Naked
We were searching for a beach on the Big Island when my wife and I parked at the edge of a cliff near all the other cars. We noticed a family with children loading up to head home and it looked like a good spot. I jumped out and saw a small beach with tiny people swimming and surfing at the bottom. It looked beautiful and we were excited to hike down and enjoy the water.
We gathered our things and started toward the trailhead. When a young couple passed I asked, “Is the beach nice down there?” “Yes, it’s beautiful” they said with a funny look on their faces. “But you know it’s a nude beach, right?” AWKWARD!
We laughed and returned to the car and went to another beach where we weirdos wear our bathing suits.
Ever wonder why we start wearing clothes from they day we’re born until the day we die? Because being naked in public would be extremely awkward for the majority of us.
Do you know what else is awkward? Not clothing yourself in kindness.
Colossians 3:12-13 tells us “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with… kindness… Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.”
If you’re anything like me you’ve neglected to dress in kindness more times than you care to remember and you’ve regretted the unkindness that followed.
The truth is we need kindness in our lives. We thrive on it. We crave it. In fact, no healthy relationship can survive without it. Kindness is essential to life.
So how can we dress in kindness on a daily basis?
The first step is to remember how kind God is toward you. Your life might not be perfect. Neither is mine! But even in the imperfections I can see the ways God has been extremely kind toward me even though I’m often unkind toward him.
If you took a few moments every day to think of the ways God has been kind toward you it will radically change your life.
The second step we can take to dress in kindness is to make allowances for each other’s faults. Look, people are going to screw up. In fact you’re probably going to screw up. It’s part of our humanity, our sinful nature.
The sooner we accept people’s imperfections the easier it is to pour out kindness.
If you choose to clothe yourself in kindness it will positively change every relationship in your life. Guaranteed! Kindness is always less awkward than unkindness. Put it on.
We gathered our things and started toward the trailhead. When a young couple passed I asked, “Is the beach nice down there?” “Yes, it’s beautiful” they said with a funny look on their faces. “But you know it’s a nude beach, right?” AWKWARD!
We laughed and returned to the car and went to another beach where we weirdos wear our bathing suits.
Ever wonder why we start wearing clothes from they day we’re born until the day we die? Because being naked in public would be extremely awkward for the majority of us.
Do you know what else is awkward? Not clothing yourself in kindness.
Colossians 3:12-13 tells us “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with… kindness… Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.”
If you’re anything like me you’ve neglected to dress in kindness more times than you care to remember and you’ve regretted the unkindness that followed.
The truth is we need kindness in our lives. We thrive on it. We crave it. In fact, no healthy relationship can survive without it. Kindness is essential to life.
So how can we dress in kindness on a daily basis?
The first step is to remember how kind God is toward you. Your life might not be perfect. Neither is mine! But even in the imperfections I can see the ways God has been extremely kind toward me even though I’m often unkind toward him.
If you took a few moments every day to think of the ways God has been kind toward you it will radically change your life.
The second step we can take to dress in kindness is to make allowances for each other’s faults. Look, people are going to screw up. In fact you’re probably going to screw up. It’s part of our humanity, our sinful nature.
The sooner we accept people’s imperfections the easier it is to pour out kindness.
If you choose to clothe yourself in kindness it will positively change every relationship in your life. Guaranteed! Kindness is always less awkward than unkindness. Put it on.
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Kindness has been God’s word for me this year, so I loved last week’s message and this post. I’m learning that kindness is about the other person and being ‘nice’ is more about me.
Proverbs 3:3-4
Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. So that you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man.
Kindness and Truth should be inseparable, but so often we sacrifice one in the name of the other.
I want them both written on my heart ❤️