1 Corinthians 13:4 AMP
love is kind and thoughtful…
A loving heart is a fascinating expression of kindness. Kindness is a warm and generous heart in action. Kindness has a similar definition in both Greek and English dictionaries. It would be something like being friendly, generous, and considerate. Being generous and pleasant.
The work kind is used 7 times in the New Testament as an adjective and 1 as a verb, that is in 1 Corinthians 13:4. In the first 7 times it is used as an adjective it is 2 times for kindness, 2 times for kind, 2 times for good and 1 time for easy.
Of all passages, one calls a tremendous attention. It is Matthew 11:28-30 NASBS
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. [29] Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. [30] For My yoke is easy* and My burden is light.”
Here Jesus is using the word easy to describe kindness in an interesting way. A yoke is a wooden crosspiece fastened over the necks of two animals and attached to a plow or cart. A yoke allows two animals to share a load and pull together. Yokes were used in Bible times primarily with bulls or oxen to plow fields and pull wagons. The animals yoked together needed to be close in size and weight for the cart or plow to pull evenly.
When Jesus referred to the yoke as “easy,” he was giving us a far broader reality of what it means to be kind. An “easy” yoke meant that the burden being shouldered was not heavy because Jesus Christ would be pulling with us.
Being kind is coming alongside someone who is struggling and assisting that person in achieving their goal, in addition to being kind, mild, compassionate, benevolent, pleasant, and generous. Being kind often entails carrying the greater load, bearing biggest weight, and walking the extra mile, like Jesus did.
Jesus shows us how to be kind by being meek rather than proud, by being gentle rather than insistent, and by assisting those with heavy and burdened hearts to find peace.
Jesus’s definition of kindness in this passage is considerably more proactive than the passive worldly concept of not being unpleasant or rude. One of the hallmarks of love is its generous nature. The point is to ease people’s burdens, give them a break, and go the extra mile! The kindness described in the Bible is proactive and present, rather than receptive. It is an intentional and active landing of a hand rather than merely a reaction.
Actions of kindness are expressions of love.
Matthew 11:28 Voice
Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Show some kindness today!
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