The Fruit of the Kindness: Outward from Above
by Daniel Burton
As Paul continues, there are two remarkably similar words that often seem to bear the same meaning. Paul talks about “kindness” (χρηστότης) and “goodness” (ἀγαθωσύνη) as fruit of the spirit. While they can almost seem to be used interchangeably in English, the two words have slightly different nuanced meaning. Kindness carried with it the idea of outward or moral rightness alongside being useful towards another person. It is a quality that must be expressed outwardly. While some fruits are conditions of the heart, kindness involves a relationship with other person as an outpouring of the heart. It is only measured when it is applied. A person cannot be kind without any interaction towards anyone or anything. At its core, it reinforces the idea that Christians are to be a light to the world, creating a lasting impact on those we come into contact with. Kindness expresses an outward usefulness towards those it comes into contact with but is fueled by the ultimate example of kindness; Jesus Christ on the cross dying for the sins of mankind.
Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
An Outward Usefulness
The idea of kindness is not that a person is giving good gifts or saying nice things, rather it carries the connotation that the person is displaying a moral goodness and rightness towards those they come into contact with. 
Thus, kindness is entirely outward. Furthermore, it is heavily tied with the idea of a person’s need or being useful to another person. Some would attempt to limit kindness to niceness, but the two are different. Kindness fulfills a need in a person’s life, often times at the expense of the person expressing the kindness. Yet, from the kindness of the Holy Spirit within them, they would likely not even consider the personal cost to help someone else. There is merely a need that should be met and, by the grace of God, we have the ability to meet it whatever the cost. Ignoring the implication of whether the action is earned, kindness helps a person in need in ways that are beneficial to them.
With kindness there is also an element of self-sacrifice or service to others. Kindness costs a person time, energy, and/or treasure to aid a person in need. Being kind, while it may involve compliments and positive affect towards a person, more so requires a person giving of themselves for the benefit of the other person. Giving to a person in need demonstrates kindness. Caring over the sick demonstrates kindness. Going out of your way to be there for a friend demonstrates kindness. Kindness is the outward expression of a heart that has been miraculously saved through the power of the Holy Spirit and serves others as a result.
The Source of Kindness
For Christians, we have the ultimate example of kindness that we should pattern our lives after. Jesus Christ’s work on the cross saving all of mankind could be described by a great deal of great things each accurately communicating the love, grace, and mercy of that single action. Kindness seems to be one that often gets left behind in the process, though evident by Christ’s actions. 
The work of Jesus Christ revealed itself as a work of kindness. By grace, no act or reason could have compelled or required God to become man and die for our sins. Yet, by His ceaseless ability and infinite love, Christ died for us. Jesus went out of His way to serve us, despite the fact that He reigns in Heaven as our Great High King. Jesus’ act demonstrated usefulness to others at the expense of the one giving for the sake of the one receiving. This is kindness. Furthermore, we remained dead in our sin until the hand of Jesus plucked out of the condemnation which were stuck under. This, too, is kindness.
Much like love, kindness must flow through the source of all good things; our Heavenly Father. From the Father, the Son showed us His kindness by paving a way for our salvation and for our redemption to stand with Him as co-heirs. As the Son intercedes on our behalf to the Father, the Son gives us the Holy Spirit who fills us to the point of overflowing. Just as God did not withhold Himself from us, with the Spirit inside of us, we do not withhold our kindness from others. We give self-sacrificially much in the same way that Jesus Christ did. We move beyond lip service to actual service. No matter how mean or angry the other person may be, kindness marks our response and our action, not because kindness is what they deserve but because it is what they need.
For more in this series, check out The Fruit of the Spirit
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[…] positions as much higher than we should. If kindness stems from a self sacrifice (as we discussed earlier in the series) and goes beyond a simple niceness (which we looked at the second part of this series) then […]