Keep Yourself Both True and Kind

 June 24, 2024

Monday

People are often divided between kindness and truth. Many believe kindness must prevail. If so, it leaves us deluding ourselves. For example, people are met frequently with requests from worthwhile charities. Each of them has a cause that is worth pursuing. The local Christian radio station has days when it asks for donations. Mission agencies send millions of mailings stating their cause. Christian colleges, universities and seminaries call for all believers to unite in giving to them. A person does not need to give beyond the Christian faith to be overwhelmed with the needs and the requests for meeting those needs. Not many people can give to all of those who make requests. 

On the other hand, truth doesn't seem to be distributed as well. One mission organization said that 80% of the donors' mission giving went to missionaries overseas missionaries. The fact is that organization only considered 20% of the donors giving designated for missions. 80% of all that was given went to running the organization for raising the funds. 4% went to what was considered local missionaries. 16% went to the actual missionaries overseas. Those facts were not publicized. I am sure that most people gave thinking that 80 cents of every dollar they gave went to the missionaries. They would be surprised to learn that it was only 16 cents of every dollar.

Kindness must always be balanced with truth. Leaning on kindness without truth will make you ineffective. Leaning on truth without kindness will make you cruel. For example, a drug addict may come to the church seeking money for food. Giving that addict money will likely end up in furthering the addiction. Letting that person starve will make the potential giver callous to those in need. Addressing the need with truth and kindness will take more time and effort than simply saying "no" or giving a few bucks. After all, you probably will never see the person again.

Of course, many would rather turn this over to a government agency so they won't need to be bothered with it. Their only involvement is to complain when they see the inefficiency of the government to meet the needs. What they don't realize is that the government is doing the same thing that they would have done. Give the person a few bucks so that it can be said that something was done. The truth of the matter is that it would be much harder to have effective programs that will get people off of drugs as long as addicts have other avenues to get money for their drugs.

Even making these problems very personal doesn't help. Parents who have a children abusing themselves in a harmful lifestyle want to stop the acts but soon realizes that this might estrange their children from them. Confronting their children with truth and holding their children to the truth is hard. It is easier to put up with the acts and hope that they come to their senses before they do irreparable harm to themselves or others. Truth should have been the kindest thing these parents should have offered.

No, truth and kindness must go together. They must for your sake and those around you.

Proverbs 3:3 (NASB 2020) ³ Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart.