This past weekend I was able to attend a simulcast of a "Living Proof Live" event. One of my favorite Bible study teachers, Beth Moore was in Chicago live, and she was live via video in over 5oo other places... I think the final count of all who were attending (live and through video) numbered over 125,000....that's a lot of women, and a few brave men :)
Beth's theme verse for this particular conference was Proverbs 31:26 (New King James Version) She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness. I don't know about you, but I sure do want to open this "BIG" mouth with WISDOM, and of course I want to be KIND too. In today's post I won't touch on all eight points of why we need to speak with wisdom and have the "law of kindness" on our tongues, but one thing Beth talked about really stuck out to me.
Beth talked about how being kind is not the same as being nice. She said "nice is fine, but kind is divine". She then added that we can fake "nice"through flattery and other kind of ways, but you can't really fake "kind". God is kind.
One of Beth's eight points stated that "Kindness is not an action. It's a disposition." That really hit me. (This is me thinking now, not Beth). Kindness is not so much in the acts we do, but who we are...Who we are in Christ.
So all this kindness talk led me to ask myself if I am kind... I would have definitely described myself as kind, and honestly I think if people were to write down words that describe me they may write "kind" on the list. But after Beth went through scripture after scripture where the word "kind" was referenced I began to think of myself in a different way. I think a better desorption of me would be to call myself "nice". Ok, let me say there is nothing wrong with the word "nice", of course I want to be nice, but that statement about how "nice" can be faked but kindness cannot, convicted me.
I have been so guilty in the past, and even today of being nice to others because it somehow benefited me. Yes, I do like be be nice, but I have been nice to others by flattering them...making them feel good so that they would think good of me. I hate that about myself, but at the deepest level of my heart I still want to please people and make everyone happy with me. I have been nice and flattered others to get people to like me.... Not so good.
I could really go on and on about this subject, but for today I just wanted to say that I want to say so long to "Mrs. Nice Girl", and hello to having the "law of kindness" on my tongue so that I may truly touch others with God's kindness, not my own false flattery. This world needs a touch of kindness, and it is only God's kindness lived out through His children that will encourage a world where true kindness seems to have disappeared.
Dear Lord, teach me how to speak with wisdom, and help me to truly speak with kindness to everyone I come in contact with. May they see You in me.
