“Be kind.” My four-year-old recited the words each day as we practiced her Sunday school memory verse. It was the preschool summary of Ephesians 4:32.
The verse bounced in my mind all week. My “grown-up” version read, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Kind and compassionate. Kind means “of a good or benevolent nature or disposition”. Compassionate means showing compassion, which is “a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.”
So, “Be kind” meant: be benevelonet and sympathetic for those suffering misfortune and try to alleviate it. Or, brought down to the preschool level, “help others like God would.”
My sweet little girl asked, “Who are the others?”
I answered before I thought it through, “Whoever we see.”
But on deeper reflection that answer convicted a bit. Is it easier to be kind to a stranger? Someone I might assume has no idea what my day looks like or what our family is going through at the moment? Honestly, sometimes it’s easier to be kind to a someone I’ll probably never see again than a family member who does things, and in my opinion, ahem, ought to know better, given the circumstances.
But Ephesians doesn’t read to be kind just to strangers.
It says to be kind just as God forgave me. He forgave me even when I wasn’t having the best of moments. Even when I was too focused on myself to consider what others were experiencing. He forgave me when my heart cried out but my tongue couldn’t push the words out of my mouth. He forgives always.
The thing about God and His forgiveness:
He never holds a grudge.
He never gives the silent treatment.
He never refuses forgiveness.
Now, I freely admit I’m no angel. I had a lot to carry to the Lord! But, with His help, I could more clearly see His love for me. How He has authored love. And how He wants me to reflect that love to others around me. I don’t get it perfect every time. Okay, honestly, I hardly ever get it right. But He knows I am trying! And He’s teaching me. Through a sweet four-year-old who simply tried to earn her sticker each Sunday.
What a blessed mom I am! Jesus is still teaching my daughters and He’s still working on their mama! Now all four of us are still learning how to be kind. I would say He’s taught us a lot, and still teaching as my oldest is now working in student ministry at a Christian college, my middle is a college student encouraging others to deal with their demons and my youngest, now a teenager who loves caring for children. Each loves people. Each works at being kind.
If you are a mom struggling to get your preschooler to learn Bible verses- no worries! Show kindness and let God work on your child’s heart. And then let Him work on your’s. Be the example God set in your child’s life. And let Him show you what He has for you- it just might be a lesson through your child. Her sweet voice just might echo in your mind, “Be kind”.
Prayer: Thank You Lord for Your teaching, in whatever form it appears. May I work to draw nearer to You. Help me prioritize kindness and then exemplify it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.