Kindness and Consistency

Galatians 5 lists kindness as one of the fruit of the Spirit.  We serve a God who is kind toward all -
reaching out in mercy, as we are reminded in Luke 6:
32 But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.
35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.

God sent His Son into a world that had rejected Him, providing the free gift of salvation, which can be received by calling on His name, believing on Jesus as our Savior.  This is a great example to us of how we are called to love, called to be kind, even to the unloving and the unkind.  It's part of our character as a born-again, child of God.  We are called to unconditional love and to show that in a consistent manner.

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There are some words about exhibiting the character of Christ that we see in Ephesians chapter 4,
where we can read:
31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.

Romans 12 admonishes us in verse 9: "Let love be without hypocrisy."

The sight of a few well-known people gathered to watch a football game has set off a national conversation - and controversy.  The Hill reported on what transpired in the owner's suite at a Dallas Cowboys game.  It has to do with Former President George W. Bush and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, and the report states:

DeGeneres and Bush stoked controversy on Twitter over the weekend after footage emerged of the pair and their spouses seated together at the Dallas Cowboys' matchup against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

Now, keep in mind that Ellen is a lesbian, meaning that her "spouse" is also a woman.  The report goes on:

After getting some heat over the sighting, the "Ellen" host dedicated her opening monologue on her show Tuesday to address the matter.

"Here's the thing," the 61-year-old said during the broadcast. "I'm friends with George Bush. In fact, I'm friends with a lot of people who don't share the same beliefs that I have."

"We're all different, and I think we've forgotten that that's OK that we're all different," DeGeneres said, while also adding, “Just because I don't agree with someone on everything doesn't mean I'm not going to be friends with them.”

"When I say 'be kind to one another,' I don't mean only the people who think the same way you do. I mean be kind to everyone, it doesn't matter," DeGeneres added.

All right, let's go ahead and cue, Kum ba Yah, 'cause Ellen is rightly speaking about being kind to one another.  It's a good look, isn't it?  And, there is a Christian principle here.  But, I'm not sure Ellen is quite the one to be teaching the lesson.  Consider this: as the New York Post's Page Six website states, "DeGeneres...has banned numerous celebrities from appearing on her show when they have expressed views that contradict her own, including those who have vocalized their anti-gay marriage views."

Uh-oh.

Remember what happened to gospel singer Kim Burrell.  According to the website, she was scheduled to appear on the Ellen show with Pharrell Williams to promote their song from the movie, Hidden Figures.  But, Ellen said:

“I actually didn’t know her, her name is Kim Burrell. She made a statement she was doing a Facebook Live and she said some very not nice things about homosexuals, so I didn’t feel that was good of me to have her on the show to give her a platform after she was saying things about me..."

Sherri Shepherd, formerly of The View, also faced a ban from the Ellen Show, according to a source quoted in the article, who deemed DeGeneres as a "hypocrite."  Shepherd had made comments that had "been perceived as anti-gay," basically saying her upbringing in the church had taught her that homosexuality was a sin; she recently told the site:

...The views and thoughts that I held have evolved from the statements I made on ‘The View’ over 10 years ago and I support same sex marriage and partnerships. I am unsure why I haven’t been booked on Ellen’s show since my tenure on ‘The View,’ but I welcome the opportunity to reconnect with Ellen to thank her for her support and opportunities that have happened for me because of her.”

Oh, apparently Vince Vaughn was reportedly on Ellen's list.  So is Bruce, er, Caitlin Jenner, who had said he was opposed to same-sex marriage.  Go figure that one out.  He wrote in his memoir that he had changed his mind.  All of these, banned from the Ellen show.

So, Ellen seems to have some room for improvement in this kindness department.  But, I would say that all of us could stand to do better in the arena.  But, we know that kindness is a fruit of the spirit, as we see in Galatians 5, and we can allow the Spirit of the Lord to produce in us an empathy and compassion that will draw people to the Jesus within us.  This is an area in which Christians can lead the way.

We can also be challenged to practice what we preach and strive for consistency.  We can be an advocate for kindness, but we have to make sure that it is authentic.  We can make sure in all areas of life that our practice lines up with our proclamation.

Now, it is certainly OK to pursue friendships with people who are different than you.  You can be friends with someone with whom you disagree.  Quite frankly, we will not agree on every single point, but we can learn to discuss our differences in our Christ-honoring way.  And, we can be careful to proclaim truth, but guard against compromise.  We can be adversely affected by those with whom we interact, so we have to remember our ultimate allegiance is to Christ.