A Lesson in Kindness

Begin with the Feast of Trumpets, and over the following three weeks, through the Feast of Atonement, and of Tabernacles, and concluding with the Eighth Day, we will have more opportunities to feast spiritually and physically, and to celebrate before God than during any other time of the year. And so, of course, our anticipation is very high. And not only that, but because we have a second tithe as God commands, the Feast of Tabernacle especially offers us ample opportunities to share God's blessings and to exercise ourselves in a spiritual fruit called kindness. A spiritual fruit called kindness. Kindness is fifth among the fruits of God's Holy Spirit. That list is found in Galatians 5, 22, 23. You probably know it. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such, there is no law. Again, that's Galatians 5, 22, 23. The fruit of kindness, then, should be evident in the lives of those who follow Jesus Christ.

Most English dictionaries define kindness as the quality or state of being gentle and considerate.

But in Galatians 5, 22, the Greek word for kindness is kratztotes, kratztotes, strongs, G55, 43, and it means morally useful, excellence in character or demeanor.

It also means gentleness, good and goodness. Now, this biblical definition denotes a much deeper moral meaning than we usually apply to kindness. Other words for kindness in the Bible include good deeds, loving kindness, mercy, pity, gentleness, and goodness. And I wonder how much kindness we share and receive and experience each day. The purpose of my sermon is to remind us to bear the fruit of kindness, always and forever. God's Word provides us the instruction and plenty of examples we need to understand and practice kindness. But today, we will study the Bible so that we can be better prepared to practice and to share that fruit of God's Spirit called kindness. The title I've given to my sermon is A Lesson in Kindness. A Lesson in Kindness. To understand kindness, we'd best consider its source. Begin at the beginning. In kindness, we should understand, originates from God. Kindness originates from God. And in part, it does describe God. Kindness is an attribute of God. Kindness is an attribute of God. If you turn with me, please, in the book of Psalms. Psalms 117.

There are only two verses. One and two. This is the shortest of all Psalms. And yet, in the shortest of all Psalms, all people are urged to praise God because of His merciful kindness. In Psalm 117, we read, Praise the Eternal, all you Gentiles. Laud Him, all you peoples. For His merciful kindness is great toward us, and the truth of the Eternal endures forever. Praise the Eternal. Here, the Hebrew word, kesed, is repeated twice. Kesed, kesed. I'm probably not pronouncing it. I'll have to reverse it because we read the opposite direction than we do in English. So we'll say, kesed, kesed.

You're listening. Okay. It means kindness, kindness. Or as our English translators have put it, merciful kindness, double kindness. God's double kindness is toward all people.

It's so strong that His truth, His word, and promises will be fulfilled. That's why we must praise Him. God's greatest kindness toward humanity is making salvation possible through His Son, Jesus Christ. Salvation requires repentance from sin. We'll flip forward to Joel, the prophet Joel. In the prophet Joel, he was inspired to emphasize God's kindness as well. In Joel 2.13, he was inspired to emphasize, to remind us about God's kindness through His desire for people to return to Him. To return to Him, meaning to repent from the heart. Joel 2.13, so rend your heart and not your garments. It's not for show. It's for something deep down and sincere and genuine. Return to the eternal your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and He relents from doing harm.

And so turning to God, we should understand, turning to God means to believe and to obey God. God is love, and His Ten Commandments define how we are to love God and how we are to love our neighbor.

God's greatest kindness, the gift of salvation, is reserved for those who willingly surrender to Him and commit themselves to walking according to His law. God's kindness and love make salvation possible. God's kindness and love make salvation possible. Let's turn to Titus 3, verse 3 through 7.

I'm building a foundation regarding kindness for my sermon. In Titus 3 through 7, we're reminded that we did nothing to earn salvation, but God, through the kindness and love of Jesus Christ, has made His gift of salvation possible to all men. Paul writes, Titus 3, verse 3, For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, when He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that, having been justified by His grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Let's also be turning to Ephesians 2, 1 through 5.

Ephesians 2, verse 1 through 5.

It's because of God's kindness and love that He has made eternal life available to all humanity. Paul repeats this idea over and over. It's such an important message. It's the gospel.

Ephesians 2, 1 through 5. And you, He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the Spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, He made us alive together with Christ. By grace, you have been saved. We did nothing to earn Him. And so, as the elect of God, we must also be actively practicing kindness and love as our new way of living. Notice Colossians 3.12.

Colossians 3.12-15. Therefore, as the elect of God, that's us, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering, bearing with one another and forgiving one another. If anyone has complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things, put on love, which is the bond of perfection. So Paul warns us not to neglect the example Christ has set for us. And so we must continually and deliberately choose to practice kindness.

We must deliberately choose to practice kindness even when others are not kind to us. And that seems to happen often some days. Let's also turn to Philippians 2.1-5. Philippians 2.1-5. How we treat others is critical. It's absolutely critical to our becoming more like God, becoming more like Jesus Christ, putting on more of His mind. In Philippians 2.1-5, Paul again exhorts believers to practice loving kindness. And here he lists some of its various traits, some of its various characteristics. Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself. And let each of you look out not only for his own interest, but also for the interest of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Again, many traits you're defining, some of the finer details of kindness. And so we must allow God's Spirit to rule in our hearts and our minds, and we must strive to put into practice the same kindness, the same love, that define who and what God is. So what we have learned so far is that kindness is a fruit of God's Spirit. It's an attribute of God. And God's kindness and love has made salvation possible for all.

And those who commit themselves to God must practice kindness as a way of life, day in, day out, in season and out of season. When it's convenient and inconvenient, we must be practicing kindness. And so the Bible does tell us what kindness is.

But let's also consider what the Bible shows us about kindness. As children, I think we learned about show and tell. I don't know if they do it anymore in school. I don't think they do. But the Bible tells us what something is, and it shows us. Let's see what the show part of kindness is. We'll find an example of kindness in action. We find an example of kindness in action in an incident from the life of King David. We're going to spend some time there today. So please be turning with me to 1 Samuel 25. In 1 Samuel 25, we're going to examine the account of David's conflict with Nabal.

And as you may remember, before he became the king of Israel, David spent some very desperate years evading King Saul. King Saul hunted David's best word I can think of. He was hunting him, and he wanted him dead. And in 1 Samuel 25, we find David and 600 of his men. Quite a small army, actually. We find David and 600 of his men hiding out in the southern Judean wilderness, an area south of Hebron.

And while David's in this area, he learned about a rich man named Nabal. Let's begin in verse 2. Again, we're looking at this as an example of kindness. In verse 2, we read, Now there was a man in Meon whose business was in Carmel, and the man was very rich. He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats. He was a pretty wealthy person back in those days. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

The name of the man was Nabal and the name of his wife, Abigail. And she was a woman of good understanding and beautiful appearance. But the man was harsh and evil in his doings. He was of the house of Caleb. Now, as you may recall, Nabal's name means foolish, wicked, impious. And he was the descendant of Caleb, we read. And Caleb had been given the area of Hebron as an inheritance. Remember, because along with Joshua, he wholly followed God. You can read about that, Joshua 14.

But there's another meaning for the word Caleb, or caliph. The word Caleb, or caliph, also means dog. Now, some scholars believe that Caleb here is not a proper noun, is not referring to a person's name, but it's referring, it's mentioning dog as a reference to Nabal's disposition, to his personality.

In his Bible commentary, in fact, Matthew Henry writes this. He states that Nabal was a dogged man, and that's an old word meaning dogish. He was surly and snappish, always snarling. And as we read further into this chapter, you might agree with Matthew Henry. He seems to be rather snappish and snarling in his ways. Now, again, David knew of Nabal and his wealth, but in verses 4 through 8, some of these verses I'll just summarize for you, but in verses 4 through 8 we discover that, unbeknown to Nabal, David and his men had been providing him some rather valuable service.

They had done no harm to Nabal's shepherds or his sheep. Can you imagine having 600 men needing to eat and all these sheep wandering around? But David and his men did nothing to harm Nabal, his shepherd or his property.

In fact, they had even protected them. One shepherd will report later to Abigail in verse 16 how David's men were a wall to us both by night and day, all the time we were with him keeping the sheep. We see then that David and his men treated Nabal with very great kindness. They treated him with very great kindness. Now, it was the time of shearing sheep, removing the wool from the sheep.

And in that culture, it was typically a time of celebrations, sort of like a harvest time. And having provided Nabal good and kind service, David expected Nabal to show some kindness in return and maybe to share some food and drink with him and his men. After all, from David's point of view, their service had preserved and possibly even increased Nabal's wealth, you could say. And so David sent 10 young men with this message to Nabal, and we read it here in verse 8.

Therefore, let my young men find... and here's the message they delivered on David's behalf, I should say. Therefore, let my young men find favor in your eyes, he states to Nabal. For we come, and we come, and we come, and we come. On a feast day, a day of generosity, typically. Please give whatever comes to your hand to your servants and to your son, David.

So David's message, as they go, was really proper and was very amiable and friendly. And it simply asked Nabal to give anything he pleased. It's up to you, but please give us something, David asked. But Nabal felt neither gratitude nor kindness. Verse 10. And then Nabal answered David's servants and said, Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants nowadays who break away each one from his master. Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed from my shears and give it to men when I do not know where they are from?

And so we see, instead of expressing gratitude, Nabal wickedly insults David, claiming that his name means absolutely nothing to him. We know everybody knew about David. And he insists that he's nothing more than another rebellious servant. The word can mean slave, of course.

Instead of kindness and generosity, do you notice how Nabal's words in verse 11 express his selfishness? Let me look at him again with you. Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed from my shears? You think the man's a little bit selfish and possessive, maybe? Covetous? Sounds like it. He owes David nothing and David gets nothing, not even the courtesy of bread and water that was commonly expected to be given to strangers. He couldn't even give him simple bread and water. David was outraged. So he and 400 of his men, they strap on their swords and set out to avenge themselves on Nabal. Note David's words in verse 21 and 22. David said, Surely in vain have I predicted all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belongs to him. And he has repaid me evil for good.

May God do so and more also to the enemies of David, if I leave one male of all who belong to him by morning light. He's pretty outraged. A little kindness would have averted this looming disaster upon Nabal's household. But happily for Nabal, and as we'll see for David as well, Nabal had a wise wife who did know the value of kindness. A worried servant reported to Abigail all that had occurred. And the servant warned her in verse 17, Therefore he tells Abigail, Know and consider what you will do. For harm is determined against our master and against all his household. For Nabal is such a scoundrel that no one can speak to him. The man is impossible, and he has really done it this time. He has really done it this time.

Abigail well understood the imminent calamity Nabal's selfishness. Her husband's selfishness had at least upon them all. And so in verse 18, Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep already dressed, five siyas of roasted grain, like a bushel of grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them up on donkeys. And she said to her servants, Go on before me, see, I am coming after you. But she did not tell her husband Nabal. Now imagine, if you will, Abigail's courage. Imagine her courage when she intercepted David and his four hundred men, each one angry and intent on murder. They were set on murder. Verse 23, Now when Abigail saw David, she dismounted quickly from the donkey, fell on her face before David, and bowed down to the ground. And so she fell at his feet. She blocked their advance, and then falling to the dirt at his feet, she pleaded with David to spare the life of her husband. And she was the one who did so in a very wise way. Specifically, Abigail used kindness. She used kindness to persuade David to relent from seeking vengeance on Nabal.

Let's look carefully and examine how she used kindness to dissuade the murder of her husband and of her household. As her first act of kindness, Abigail begged David to let the consequences of Nabal's wickedness fall upon her. Look at verse 24-25, On me, my Lord, on me, let this iniquity be. And please let your maidservant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your maidservant. Please let not my Lord regard this scoundrel Nabal. For as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. But I, your maidservant, did not see the young men of my Lord whom you sent. Abigail insisted that she bear the blame. Why?

It's because had she only known that David's men were there seeking a gift of food, then the outcome would have been so much different. Had she known perhaps she would have persuaded Nabal, in a way only she knew how, to give him something. Or perhaps she would have given them food and drink herself. And as for Nabal, she begged David to pay no attention to him. Ignore him, she says. He simply can't help but be what he is. He's a wicked man, and a very foolish man. Don't let him bother you.

Her second act of kindness occurred when she gently reminded David that vengeance belongs to God and not to men. Verse 26, Now therefore, my Lord, as the eternal lives and as your soul lives, since the eternal has held you back from coming to bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek harm from my Lord be as Nabal. This scripture is a little harder to understand.

Abigail is using some reasoning with him. Abigail reasoned that God was using her to prevent him from committing murderous vengeance and bloodshed. She urged David to reconsider what he was about to do and to instead trust God to right all wrongs against him. In other words, when Abigail said in verse 26, Let your enemies and those who seek harm from my Lord be as Nabal, she is telling David to allow God to perform his just and perfect vengeance upon Nabal and upon all your enemies. David surely knew that vengeance belongs to God. But Abigail here kindly reminds him of that fact. It seems David had perhaps forgotten something in the heat of the moment. Hold your place here. We'll be coming back. But let's read several scriptures about vengeance. Leviticus 19, for example.

Leviticus 19. Certainly David knew this scripture. Leviticus 19, verse 18.

You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Those words sound familiar. I am the Eternal.

Vengeance, we see, strikes against the very core of God's law, totally contrary to the way we are supposed to treat one another. Let's also read Deuteronomy 32. Deuteronomy 32, verse 35-36.

Vengeance's mind and recompense, Their foot shall slip in due time, for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things to come hasten upon them. For the Eternal will judge his people and have compassion on his servants.

It's Deuteronomy 32, 35-36. We learn here that God's compassion or kindness includes accomplishing his just vengeance on behalf of those who trust in him. You see, in Romans 12, the Apostle Paul refers to the same Scripture we heard in the Sermonet. Romans 12-19-21. Romans 12-19-21. These Scriptures are very much a guide for us in our day, in our lives. In Romans 12-19, Romans 12-19-21, Paul writes, Be loved, be loved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath. Put it away. For it is written, Vengeance's mind I will repay, says the Lord. Therefore, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink. These are kind things to do. For in so doing, you will heap coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, that is, wrath and vengeance, but overcome evil with good. God only has perfect judgment, not us, not we human beings. Being hateful, being unforgiving and vengeful has nothing to do with kindness. Vengeance belongs to God, and Abigail's reminder to David was indeed an act of kindness. It was an act of kindness because it prevented him from sinning against God. It prevented David from sinning against God.

Now let's go back to 1 Samuel 25.

As a third act of kindness, she's a very wise and kind person. As a third act of kindness, Abigail presented David her gift of provisions. All this foodstuff she loaded up on those donkeys.

Verse 27, And now this present, which your maidservant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord. And please forgive the trespass of your maidservant. She's not letting him forget that she wants his forgiveness.

So Abigail gave these provisions because of the kindness David and his men had shown in protecting Nabal's shepherds and his sheep. And certainly her gift helped to soothe David's anger, all their anger, and it helped to emphasize her plea for mercy. And along with her gift, Abigail did a fourth act of kindness.

She encouraged David to remember his high calling from God.

She encouraged David to remember his high calling from God and his future as Israel's king.

Continuing there in verse 28, For the eternal will certainly make for my lord an enduring house. Because my lord fights the battles of the eternal, an evil is not found in you throughout your days. Yet a man has risen to pursue you and seek your life. Here she's referring to King Saul. But the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living. That's an odd metaphor. New Living Translation says the life of my lord shall be secure in God's treasure pouch. He will protect David's life.

So the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the eternal your God. In the lives of your enemies he shall sling out. It's from the pocket of a sling. Now isn't that interesting? She uses the metaphor of a sling or of a slingshot. Why would she purposely choose that metaphor?

I'm quite certain she referred to a sling to remind David to trust God.

That just as God delivered him from Goliath, a giant of an enemy when he was a boy, so God will deliver him from Saul, a current enemy, and all his enemies to come.

Verse 30-31, she concludes her plea with the request, once again, that he trust God, and that he remember her words. And she says, And it shall come to pass when the eternal has done for my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you. And as appointed you ruler over Israel, that this offense by Nabal will be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. But when the eternal has dealt well with my lord, then remember your maidservant.

Abigail's humble and kind advice disarmed David from seeking vengeance. And more than that, David himself recognized God working through her to prevent him from sinning. Notice what David says in verse 32.

David said, Blessed is the eternal God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me. And blessed is your advice, and blessed are you, because you have kept me this day from coming to bloodshed and from avenging myself with my own hand. For indeed, as the eternal God of Israel lives, who has kept me back from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely by morning light no males would have been left to Nabal. David then accepted her gift, he accepts all her kindness, and he sent her home in peace. He sent her home in peace.

When Abigail returned home, Nabal was deep into the evening's festivities, and he was very drunk. So drunk, she'd even try to tell him what had just transpired. While all this was going on, Nabal was totally oblivious, totally oblivious to how she had saved his life, his household, and his wealth from certain destruction. Verse 37, So it was in the morning when the wine had gone from Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became like a stone.

He was stone struck, we might say. And then it happened, after about 10 days, that the eternal struck Nabal, and he died. David received the news as a blessing.

A blessing was a kindness from God. In verse 39, So when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the Eternal, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept his servant from evil. For the Eternal has returned the wickedness of Nabal on his own head.

So that was a lesson for David, and a lesson still for us.

God does have compassion. God does have kindness on his servants. God will avenge. But we must notice one more act of kindness for relief, this chapter.

It's at the end of verse 39.

And David sent and proposed to Abigail to take her as his wife. And Abigail accepted David's proposal, and she did become David's wife.

I believe it was a kindness that David did not leave her widowed.

And it was a kindness to himself as well, don't you think? David must have been drawn by her courage, her wisdom, and also by her kindness. Not only, you see, had she saved her own household from David's wrath, but she had saved David from his own wrath, and from sinning against God. Very important point. And so this episode in David's life, this episode, does end rather happily. It ends happily.

But as we read this, what lessons can we take away from this example, examples really, of David and Abigail and Nabal?

There are probably many I've drawn out for. I think there's four lessons, at least we can pull here from this chapter, this episode. The first lesson, I would say this, that selfishness places no value in kindness. Selfishness places no value in kindness.

Nabal was overly concerned about his possessions, the things of life. In his total disregard for even common courtesy, common kindness, well, that underscores his uncaring greed for which he was well known in the community. Nabal had regard only for himself and his possessions, and yet coveting his riches did him no good whatsoever. Let's note Paul's instructions in that regard in 1 Timothy 6.

Again, we're considering the lessons that we need to take from this.

Let's notice Paul's instructions to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6 and verses 17 through 19.

Paul instructed Timothy, command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, not to trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they may be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share. Sounds like kindness. Storying up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

And so we're reminded here through Paul that true riches are not found in things. True riches belong to those who have God's Holy Spirit and who practice godly kindness and love. A second lesson, anger leaves no place for kindness.

Anger leaves no place for kindness.

Anger and wrath like selfishness, they drive kindness from our hearts. David became so enraged that he and his men nearly committed murder, even of those same shepherds whom they had befriended.

Without kindness, we will also find ourselves on the verge of making terrible, terrible mistakes. And some of our mistakes will lead to sin. Notice Ephesians 4.31.

Ephesians 4.31-32 Paul writes, Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

With the help of God's Spirit, we can repent of revenge and hate. We can practice kindness, forgiveness, and God's love to all people, and even to our bitterest enemies. A third lesson, kindness leads to kindness.

Kindness leads to kindness.

Now, our kindness will not always be immediately returned. The kindness we do to somebody else may not be returned right away.

Nabal didn't return kindness to David and his men, but Abigail later did.

And David did return Abigail's kindness towards him when he relented from seeking vengeance. Kindness will lead to kindness in all and good time, but we need to trust God and to understand things from his perspective.

Notice what Christ said in Luke 6.35.

In Luke 6.35, Jesus taught us and teaches us, but love your enemies. Love your enemies. Do good and lend, hoping for nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For he is kind. God is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore, be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

God expects us to practice kindness towards all, even when it's unappreciated, even when we get nothing back in return. But we do get something back in return, just not maybe from those individuals. God is fully aware of what we do. God is fully aware of the kindness we give to others. We must trust God to reward us with his kindness for the kindness we do. And that reward, of course, is salvation and a place in the kingdom of God.

The fourth lesson is kindness helps us conquer sin. Kindness helps us conquer sin. Abigail intervened in David's life just when he was about to commit a grievous sin before God.

His uncontrolled anger had driven him to seek vengeance contrary to God's law, as we've seen.

But her kindness soothed David's anger, and it helped him to repent of certain sin.

As we have opportunity and with godly wisdom, we also need to practice kindness in helping one another conquer sin.

Remember Paul's words in Galatians 6, 1-2. Galatians 6, 1-2.

Paul writes, Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Let's also look at verse 9.

He continues in Galatians 6, verse 9. Let us not, Paul writes, grow weary while doing good.

For in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

We need to be more like Abigail in how she helped others, how she helped David, how she helped him to avoid and to conquer sin.

But we need to go about it in the right way. We need to make sure we are practicing godly wisdom when we set out to help one another.

We need to write an appropriate approach, such as she did, gentle, quiet, with wisdom.

Her kindness and our kindness, too, need to be underpinned by humility. She is a very gentle and godly wisdom.

When we consider Abigail's acts of kindness, I think you'll agree with me.

When we study it and think about it, they are rather astounding what she did. What she accomplished that day is amazing to me. Through her words and actions, we can discover a deeper and more meaningful understanding of kindness than perhaps we have had before.

I would really like for us to consider what she did.

Think about it. Abigail averted a massacre. That's what we would have called it today. A massacre.

Every male in her household would have been murdered. Not just her husband, but the men and boys of her household. And they were not warriors. They were shepherds, goat herders. They were totally defenseless and no match whatsoever against David and his 400 battle-tested warriors.

And the women of her household.

From what untold suffering had she also saved them? I believe Abigail accomplished a heroic and truly life-saving feat that day through her acts of kindness.

And once she faced David and his army, imagine how she could see their faces. She could see their eyes filled with hate and anger, eager to avenge themselves with the blood of her family, of her servants and friends.

Yet it was her kindness, in word and action, humble, meek, wise, determined, and most courageous, as we've already seen, that turned David's heart from angry vengeance to compassionate mercy. Abigail risked all and through kindness, saved many lives that day, lives of her household.

What we discover, then, is maybe something we never quite grasped about kindness before. What we discover is that kindness requires great moral fortitude and great strength and even great courage.

Now, kindness is being polite. Kindness is courteous and being friendly. Kindness does open doors for others.

Kindness does give sincere compliments, and it does share words of encouragement. Kindness does say, please, and thank you, and you're welcome. Yes, that's kindness.

And during our many opportunities in life, and especially as we consider this festival season, we must practice kindness in many meaningful and creative ways that God will lead us to do. So, yes, we must be generous to all. During the feast, we need to share time. We need to share meals and entertainment with others. We must make sure that we don't let frustration and anger make us less kind or feel a little more selfish towards our family and to others around us. Kindness is all this and other friendly and considerate things we do, and we need to keep doing those things. But today, I hope we've learned that kindness is so much more than those things, as important as they are to do. Scripture shows us that kindness is an attribute of our Eternal God and Father. Kindness is a fruit of God's divine essence. Kindness is spiritual. It is powerful. It is everlasting. But to practice kindness requires conscientious effort on our part. To be more kind, we need God's Holy Spirit dwelling and maturing in us. We need to draw closer, always closer, to God. And we must pray. We must study deeply in God's Scriptures. We must live by faith. Always believing. Always obeying God. Only then will we have the strength from God necessary to follow Jesus Christ and to live His examples of kindness, such as loving our enemies and living out our lives with humility and self-sacrifice. Always and especially now.

Especially now as we joyfully anticipate the return of Jesus Christ, we joyfully look forward to the coming of the Kingdom of God. Especially now, let us be ever more dedicated to practicing true kindness towards all.