The Fruit of the Spirit: Kindness

By Robb Brunansky

Published June 19, 2025

The fruit of the Spirit of kindness is a distinctly Christian virtue. For example, the Greek word for kindness was often confused with the word for Christ and Christian. However, kindness is fraught with problems.

There is the problem of definition – what is kindness? People often interchange kindness with niceness. Kindness and niceness, though, are not the same.

Then, there is the problem of the nature of kindness – where does it come from? Most people seem to view kindness as an inherent character trait, which leads to the idea that this virtue is related to our personality. Nothing, though, will short circuit our sanctification faster than making excuses for our lack of holiness, or will hinder our conformity to Christ quicker than explaining why we can’t be like Him in certain areas.

There’s also the problem of practice – what does kindness look like in practice? Or in concrete terms, how is kindness different from being nice?

With these problems, there are three questions to answer, starting with what is kindness?

When forming a biblical definition of kindness, we must follow a biblical method of understanding. There are two ways people try to understand things. Individuals reason from man to God, which always leads to wrong conclusions. God’s thoughts and ways are not ours (Isaiah 55:8-9), and God’s ways and thoughts are higher than ours. Sadly, this is the world’s way. Many Christians don’t realize most of their thoughts come from thinking like the world and then superimposing those thoughts on Scripture. This thinking always leads to wrong ways.

People also reason from God to man, which is what the Lord desires (Isaiah 55). God wants us to stop thinking like the natural, sinful person, and to start thinking like Him and imitate His ways. To understand anything, then, we start with God, asking what He is like. This process is the starting point for all godly knowledge and wisdom (Proverbs 1:7).

So, to truly understand kindness, we don’t first look at human examples. Rather, we look to the Word and ask what God is like in His kindness. The Lord, then, becomes the standard of our thinking about kindness. What does Scripture say kindness is?

God’s kindness reflects His nature. His kindness stems from who He is as God; He is the definition of kindness (Psalm 34:8, 1 Peter 2:3).

The Lord’s kindness moves Him to bless even the wicked and sinful (Luke 6:35). The Lord doesn’t give to sinners because He expects a return. He doesn’t love sinners because they deserve it. Instead, He loves because He is compelled by who He is as God – He is kind.

God’s kindness has a purpose: salvation (Romans 2:4). The Lord’s kindness is not meaningless but has a redemptive purpose. When God does good things to evil and ungrateful men, He does so to lead them to repentance. However, above any temporal blessing God might shower on the wicked, the greatest gift He gave to mankind because of His kindness is Jesus (Titus 3:4). Of all the things the Lord has ever done to lead a sinner to repentance, nothing compares to the kindness He showed by sending His one and only Son into the world to die for sinners. Sinners who come to God in repentance and faith always find His kindness and forgiveness (Psalm 86:5).

The Lord’s kindness is the goal of our salvation (Psalm 31:19, Ephesians 2:4-7). God has saved us from sin and death because He wants to be kind and shower us with His kindness for eternity.

Kindness is the Lord’s concern for sinners that leads Him to acts of grace for their benefit. God’s disposition toward humanity is marked by kindness, and He pours out grace on His creation – even on the ungrateful and wicked. This kindness should lead to repentance and salvation, which benefits the saints for all eternity. Spirit-filled human kindness is a concern for others, leading to acts of grace for their benefit, which is all produced by the Spirit in all believers.

Kindness, then, is rooted in the Lord’s concern for people, and it is manifest in our lives as concern for the welfare of others. We are concerned for people’s welfare because they are created in God’s image, and this concern leads us to acts of grace for their benefit. Our kindness, like the Lord’s, always has an agenda, which is salvation. We pray that all we encounter see God’s kindness in our kindness. If the Lord shows our brothers and sisters eternal kindness – even with all their faults, sins, and failures – we do not have the right to do any less.

So how do we grow in kindness? There are two ways from Scripture we can learn from.

The psalmist talks about the Lord’s goodness, which is specifically His kindness – His blessing of His creation and covenant faithfulness to His people (Psalm 136:1). If our kindness is an imitation of God’s kindness, we must let His kindness fill our hearts and mind, which the psalmist commands us to do by giving the Lord thanks. It’s amazing how, when we reflect on God’s kindness with gratitude in our hearts, the Spirit moves us to be kind to others.

In another psalm, the psalmist is again focused on God’s kindness, encouraging us to eagerly tell the memory of the Lord’s abundant kindness, and to shout joyfully of His righteousness. This can happen in corporate worship, small groups, regular fellowship, after church, at home, or anywhere. One reason why we might struggle to be kind is because we don’t think often enough of God’s kindness to us; we’re not overwhelmed by it like we should be.

What does kindness look like in practice? The examples are limitless. God’s kindness ranges from small to massive things. Our acts of kindness don’t have to be earth-shattering. Also, realize that what seems small to us, might be earth-shattering for the person who receives it.

This next application of kindness doesn’t get highlighted too often, but sometimes the kind thing to do is to confront sin. The kind thing to do is probably not going to be seen as very kind by the world, and sometimes other believers will even think it is unkind. What makes a rebuke kind is when it’s done with a redemptive purpose or as an act of grace – not in judgment or condemnation. Remember that kindness is not necessarily the same as niceness or being agreeable. When its purpose is redemptive and the aim is grace, such a rebuke is kindness.

A large part of manifesting kindness is being aware of the need for kindness and intentionally seeking to show kindness to others. When we show this kindness to believers, we reflect the Lord’s grace poured out in our lives, and He uses us to pour out His grace in their lives. When we show kindness to unbelievers, we do it with the aim of an opportunity to tell them the gospel of God’s redeeming grace.

God has been infinitely kind. He has shown us kindness in terms of temporal blessings and giving us Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. Because of God’s kindness, we are called to show kindness to others. Kindness is a concern for others, leading to acts of grace for their benefit produced by the Spirit in all believers.

If we are concerned with holiness, we will be concerned with kindness. As one writer said, “If we are not very kind, we are not very holy.” May the Lord make us all a people that manifests kindness of every kind to everyone.