I grew up with the idea that kindness was the most important. I still believe that kind people make a better world, but I’ve also learned that the emphasis on kindness above all other traits can lead to a handful of problems that are endemic in the church.

Types of Kindness in Christianity

There are two main ideas of kindness in Christianity: The virtue of love (which I will refer to as “Goodness” from here-in) and the sacrificial love of God/Jesus (which I will refer to as “Sacrifice” from here-in).

The Goodness of God refers to His love for His creation—including humanity. This is a very general principle that can cover everything from creating the universe to having a plan for each of us, to giving us breath and life, and loving His enemies. It is an unconditional, unchangeable, unending love.

The Sacrifice that Jesus made when he died on the cross is a love sacrifice for His Father’s good and for all of humanity. Jesus’s mission was to become fully human and take the blame for our sin through his death and resurrection. If this Jesus isn’t who He said He is, he is the biggest threat that humanity has ever sen because he willingly gave himself over to be killed knowing that his crucifixion would actually bring about our salvation. There is no other reason to die that way, and as hard as it is for humans to see, when Jesus said he was the way, the truth, and the light, he really meant it.

What Makes Up Goodness & Sacrifice

Let’s break down Goodness and Sacrifice into their core parts. First, what makes up Goodness? I like to boil it down to four characteristivcs: Kindness, Compassion, Love, and Grace. Each of these traits add depth to each other as well as to our ability to live out Goodness. All of the elements of Goodness are good but Love may be the most important of all, as we saw in 1 John 4:8 “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.“

The most complete definition of Love in Scripture comes from John 13:34, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” This means we should love others just like Jesus loves them. What do we know about Jesus? He loved the marginalized and underdog, He had a servant heart, and he did things only the best of humanity would do. We have seen his compassion in the stories of Jesus helping the crowds find food with only a few scraps of bread and fish. We’ve heard his tenderness towards broken people in the gospels. And we know that Jesus endured great suffering and loss so that the rest of us might be saved.

So, as you can see, Goodness is built on Kindness, Compassion, Love, and Grace.

Next, let’s look at sacrificial love. What does a sacrifice mean? Many people think a sacrifice is just something you offer to God when you want something from him, but there’s more to it than that. I think we can sum up a sacrifice as “an offering made to please or appease the gods.”

Of course, the Bible doesn’t just talk about sacrifices being given to God. It talks a lot about how Jesus’s greatest sacrifice was his death on the cross. In fact, Jesus talked about the need to sacrifice literally all of your possessions to please God.

“Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it will be for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!’ And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, ‘Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.’ And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, ‘Who then can be saved?'” – Mark 10:24-27

Sacrifice, then, is the giving of yourself or your possessions to either God or another, depending on the situation. Now, all of this adds up to one thing: Kindness. We see throughout scriptures that God is always kinder than any man can be. He keeps promises, He offers peace and forgiveness at every turn, and He gives us wisdom, strength, and perseverance through hard times. He even provides for us when we are out of food or money by sending ravens to bring food and oil. As 1 Corinthians 13:4 tells us, “Love is patient, love is kind…”, and God is the most kind out of all.

All of the elements that make up Goodness and Sacrifice are good but Love may be the most important of all, as we saw in 1 John 4:8 “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love”.

What Does The Bible Say About Kindness?

The Bible talks a lot about how we should be kind, but it also says that we cannot be kind unless we first have the character of the most important trait in the Bible—God’s goodness or our love of Him (see Galatians 5:5-6). There are three main ways that Scripture teaches us about kindness: The first is through Jesus’s example during His ministry, Secondly by Paul’s teachings in his letters to churches (especially Philippians), and thirdly in our ability to represent Christ as He did while teaching and preaching the Gospel.

Let me start by talking about Jesus because he was the best at teaching by example and showing what it means to live out God’s word. Jesus was always kind, but He didn’t let people walk all over him. In John 8, the Pharisees try to trap Him by bringing out a woman caught in adultery to get Him to say she should be stoned. Jesus knew they were trying to trick Him, so He asked her accusers where they were when she sinned with her partner. They didn’t answer him, so Jesus told them that anyone without sin could be the first to cast a stone, at which point they left one by one.

This shows a couple of things. First, it shows that Christ was always gentle with the people He cared about, and second it shows that He did not allow people to abuse Him. This is because Jesus always put the other person’s needs above His own, but in doing so He never allowed others to take advantage of him.

Another example of Christ’s kindness is found in Luke 22:8 when Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss before a crowd of Romans. Knowing what was about to happen, he still laid down his life for his brothers and sisters, even though He knew they would condemn Him to death and kill Him a few hours later. Christ’s kindness is one that we can follow if we are willing to seek it.

We can also learn what it means to live out Christ’s kind example by looking at Paul’s teachings in his letters, especially in Philippians (please see Romans as well). Philippians teaches us about what it means to have a servant’s heart, for Christ calls us His servant so He can use us to bring salvation and healing to others. It teaches us about humility and acceptance by saying that no matter who we are—rich or poor—we are all servants of Christ. Lastly, it teaches us that we should rejoice in our sufferings for it is through these that we grow closer to God.

Finally, we can learn what it means to live out Christ’s kindness by representing Him as He did while preaching and teaching. Jesus said in Matthew 25:35, “For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in,” meaning that whoever helps the hungry, gives drink to the thirsty, or welcomes the stranger is representing Christ by being kind. So when we are kind we are representing Christ, and when we are mean or angry we are representing the devil.

Kindness is therefore defined as “a Christian trait of meekness or generosity.” It also means acting as Christ acted, being like He was, and making sure that everyone knows you are a true follower of Jesus Christ. And from this description, we can see that being kind isn’t just for the church; it is for all of us—Christians, non-Christians, saints, heretics, etc..—because kindness and love are universally loved.

Kindness in Atheism

Atheists seem to have some things in common with Christians: they believe in living a good life, serving others, and speaking out against injustice. When I say “living a good life” I mean living life in a way that brings glory to God or the universe, which ever is your preference—this is one of the few things that both atheists and Christians seem to agree on.