Kindness is NOT weakness

I saw this in a blog and it made me think. Mind you, this person is a friend, so we talked a bit about it as well, but it's something that you struggle with too: being nice.

Some of us aren't nice enough. We're mistrusting even our most generous of moments. We can't be too careful around anyone. We sleep with one eye open at all times. We only give as much of ourselves as we think we can afford to lose without consequence "just in case" someone decides to backstab which is potentially every one. We live with love at half-mast... on a good day.

Some of us are "too nice". We wear our hearts on our sleeves and we're easily hurt (and equally theatrical) when we are hurt, sinking into a deep depression at times. However, once we heal up, we're at it again and ready to love the world to microbits. That kind of love would be awesome, but we give away a bit too much to people who aren't worth it and love without discernment or control or peace is dangerous and unwieldy and sometimes leaves us with great potential to do more harm than good most of the time.

In our efforts to get closer to doing real love well, we try to be kind (that's a fruit, right?) and get hurt in the process. We're in a world that, in spite of being broken (and being told that the world is broken), we cherish and believe in a great deal of ideals about. Often, that hurt we feel when someone blows up at us is just the bruising of that ideal one person at a time and that doesn't feel good.

Sometimes, we wonder whether or not it's worth it to continue to be kind if this is what kindness gets us: hurt. A lot. The answer is not simple even though there is a whole chapter about the importance of this love thing. The fact of the matter is that many people -- and especially Christians for some odd reason -- think that persistence in loving people that treat us like crap sometimes is weakness. The funny thing is that we're commanded to keep loving and revel in weakness. That weakness to the world is strength for us.

What do I mean? Well, it's been said that in the end the love of many will grow cold. One of the greatest things we have is love and the ability to keep loving. We are strong in many respects as human, but the thing we cannot do is continue to love in hardship. The power of Christ in our lives allows us to keep loving and to shed tears and blood to do so even when it would preserve our feelings and sense of comfort to love less.

Sounds a lot like sacrifice, doesn't it? I don't know weak people that sacrifice. I don't know weak people that patiently endure hardship and hurt. I don't know weak people that are strong enough to know when to fight and when not to.

To the person that wrote that blog, you're ability to be nice -- among many other mixed up things -- is really just the God-inspired ability to love and there is nothing weak or shameful about that. In fact, you're in good company as far as strength goes.

I love you.