A Year Of Kindness (IV): The Actions Of Paul

 "We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found in our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way:  through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, tumults, labors watching, hunger; by purity, knowledge, forbearance, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God;..." 

- 2 Corinthians 6: 4-6 RSV, emphasis mine

Our next stop on our New Testament journey of kindness has us stop in 2 Corinthians.  Written as a follow up to 1st Corinthians and an unknown "severe letter" confronting sin in the Corinthian church, it (among other things) establishes Paul's apostolic credentials in the midst of false teaching in the Church.

We are about mid-book here (chapter 6 of 13) where is speaking of how he and his associates are working to share the gospel, comparing themselves to how some of the false teachers of the day acted.  Paul is in midst of speaking about how they actively work to make the gospel accessible. Verses 4 and 5 discuss the physical issues they face - physical endurance issues through travel including all of the things he lists:  afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, tumults, labors, watching, hunger - not necessarily a list to recommend following a belief system to anyone then or now.

Then he turns to the other elements.  Some - the Holy Spirit, the power of God- are supernatural and beyond their direct control.  But others are under their control and practice - purity, knowledge, forbearance, genuine love, truthful speech.

And, of course, kindness (chrestotes (χρηστότης) - goodness of heart, kindness).

Again, it makes me wonder:  why, when listing out things that he (Paul) uses in the presentation of the Gospel and proof of his ministry, does he include kindness?

---

Paul, in this passage overall, is talking about acting as an ambassador of Christ, of drawing individuals to him - "Behold, now is the acceptable time, behold, now is the day of salvation" (2nd Corinthians 6:2).  They are doing this, he states, in various ways.

The first - demonstrated by the rather long list of difficulties they have encountered - demonstrates their commitment to the cause of Christ.  It is as if Paul is saying you cannot say we do not endure great things for this message we are proclaiming (which, it follows, we must believe in - after all, why else would we do this?).

The second part breaks into three different kinds of demonstrations by Paul.  The first are those things which Paul himself has no power or control over - the Holy Spirit, the power of God. These he can demonstrate, but he cannot generate.  The second kind are those which Paul lives out personally in his life - purity, knowledge, truthful speech.  These are things which are come from him internally to the outer world.

The third kind are those which he practiced to the outer world:  forbearance, genuine love, kindness.

---

One of the thing history tells us - if anything - is that human nature has not undergone much of a change in the 2,000 years since Christ walked the Earth (or longer, really; it is not like the records dating back any farther suggest we as a species were anything but what we still are).  Therefore, these virtue practiced to the outer world - forbearance, genuine love, kindness - must have been just as out the ordinary then as they seem so much of time today.

Imagine the example of a man like Paul - beaten, tired, without a real home, constantly ministering to the needs of others, constantly thinking about all the churches he has planted, potentially always under the risk for arrest - constantly demonstrating kindness in his relationship to others. Yes, he could be severe - he confronted Peter about Judaizing, and was willing to go toe to toe with Roman authorities about his rights as a citizen - but in his letters, and likely in his person, he was kind.  

Like his Master was.

---

Kindness - like forbearance and genuine love, practiced constantly and freely - makes a mark on the people around you.  It draws them in. It, as Paul demonstrated, gives credence to the idea that something has changed in our lives:  after all, who can be consistently kind in world that too often lives by force and selfishness.

Sometimes, it even draws people in against their will.  Which should not surprise us:  when commodities are valuable and rare, people wish to attain them.  Or in Paul's case, attain the thing that makes them possible.