Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32 NIV
In much of the world, kindness and compassion are in short supply. But that should not be true within a community of believers. Those of us who have given our lives to Jesus and now follow him as his disciples are to be different from the rest of the world. And one of the ways we are to be different is how we treat each other.
In the previous verse, Paul told us to get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander, and every other form of malice. Most of us likely do not think of our interactions with others as negative, at least to the extent Paul describes. But how do you respond to someone who says or does something that hurts you or that you find disagreeable somehow? Is there a touch of anger, maybe some bitterness, and possibly even a bit of gossip?
That should not be. We should respond to that hurt or inconvenience with kindness and compassion, forgiving as Christ forgave us. Anger, bitterness, and gossip will cause division within a community of believers and will spread like cancer. While kindness, compassion, and forgiveness will draw us closer together, uniting us together as the body of Christ.
I often do not know what another person is going through or feeling. Or why they act the way they do. But it is always appropriate to respond to them with kindness and compassion. And, when I do, it can bring healing to that person, our relationship, and the health of the body.
