by, Tracy DeJong
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32
I’m sure by now you’ve seen this scripture painted on our wall in the elementary hallway. (Thank you Amy McMullen @thelocalscribe!)
Kindness, which is The River Academy Key Club’s theme for the year, is hopefully something we all want to get better at. But what exactly is kindness anyway? One online definition (https://www.kindnessiseverything.com), says kindness is the sincere and voluntary use of one's time, talent, and resources to better the lives of others, one's own life, and the world through genuine acts of love, compassion, generosity, and service. The dictionary says: Kindness is benevolent behavior, desiring to help others, intended for benefit rather than profit. Those are pretty good definitions of kindness. Who doesn’t want more of that?! Perhaps we’ve all met both children and adults who seem to be naturally kind. I believe the Lord truly has gifted some with the desire and ability to bless the world with their extreme kindness. However, for most of us, kindness is a skill that we have to learn. And the good news is, we can learn and grow in both our ability and desire to show kindness to others.
As followers of Christ, we have more reason than anybody to show kindness to others, for we have each been the recipients of such extravagant kindness. Consider Luke 6: 35-36: “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind (emphasis added) to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” God’s love, patience, and kindness has changed and keeps changing our lives. It’s his kindness that leads us to repentance. (Romans 2) It’s his “genuine acts of love, compassion, generosity, and service” that makes a way for us to be reconciled to him and walk with him in relationship. It is our hope and prayer that our students will be able to grasp how kind God has been to them in Christ, and in turn, offer the Lord’s life-changing kindness to others.
We’re looking for creative ways to teach and develop kindness in the elementary grades this year. We’d love to hear your suggestions! We’ve started with a Kindness Shout Out board in our elementary hallway where students are encouraged to give a “shout out” about acts of kindness they see their classmates performing! I invite you to stop by and read the board and even add your own Shout Out notes. May the Lord himself help us as we seek to make The River Academy a place where the kindness and mercy of God is extended to all. For additional information and help in teaching your child kindness, please check HERE.
