The Weekly Word: Be kind to everyone

By the Rev. Daniel Larson, Cross Lutheran Church, Charles City

The two boys often embarrassed their mother with the way they acted in public. The brothers were always arguing and fighting.

At the grocery store the two of them would fight about which cereal Mom should buy or whined and fussed about not getting their favorite ice cream. Sometimes Mom wondered if they would ever survive their childhood.

However, even though the two brothers often fought and bickered, they were very loyal to one another. For example, if someone at school would tease one of them, the other brother would come to his defense.

Their mother couldn’t understand it! She wondered how they could fight with each other one minute, and yet just a short time later, protect the other one? She thought blood surely must be thicker than water.

Oftentimes this is the way it is with sibling rivalry, it seems. And so it is when defending our family members.

But God would want us to broaden our scope and to be kind to everyone, not just to family members. This is why He encourages us to treat all people as if they were family.

Scripture says, “Make every effort to add to your faith … brotherly kindness” (2 Peter 1:5,7).

Oh, it’s true that there are dozens of things that make each of us different from someone else in this world. Such things include where we live, our nationality, the color of our skin, our talents, the size of our paycheck, and so forth.

And even though we may enjoy being around people who are like us, God wants us to possess Christian, brotherly kindness and to treat everyone the way we would treat a brother or sister whom we love.

After all, God’s love for us is what prompted Him to send His Son, Jesus, so that everyone who believes in Him has life in His name.

Therefore, in response to God’s love for us, let us show brotherly kindness in our life. Especially now in this troubled world, let us all the more earnestly put our faith into action and be kind to everyone.

Everyone is cordially invited to come and worship with us at Cross Lutheran Church to learn more about the love, grace, and kindness of Christ.