Dare 2: Love is Kind

"She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue"

Proverbs 31:26

Dare 2: Love is Kind 

Practicing patience helps to avoid negative situations, whereas practicing kindness helps creates positive situations. 

"Love makes you kind.  And kindness makes you likable. When you're kind, people want to be around you.  They see you as being good to them and good for them."  

"Do not let kindness and truth leave you;  bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.  So you will find favor and repute in the eyes of God and man."   Proverbs 3:3-4

So, what does it mean to practice kindness on our kiddos?  The book has broken the term into four separate ideas.  

1.  Gentleness.  First let's think about what gentleness is not... It is not harsh, bitter, argumentative, careless, impatient :), irritable, insensitive, and maybe this is important for some to hear: gentleness is not weakness.  In fact, The Full Life Study Bible defines gentleness as restraint coupled with strength and courage.  I think gentleness with our students simply means being careful how we treat them (even the roughest piece of sandpaper in your class!).  When we have to discipline our students, gentleness means making the discipline as easy to hear as possible.  I really liked my friends idea of having an "Australia"
 corner in her classroom--where she sends a student to chill out and have a second to think about what's happening before any discipline occurs.  

2.  Helpfulness. The idea of being helpful is to meet the needs of the moment. I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel like one of my most constant battles with my students is organization.  Man, those kids are unorganized!    I think often times what many of my students need more than anything is some help getting organized.  It is a frustrating process for me because I feel as though I spell out daily what to do to keep their binders, folders, and notebooks organized, and they still come to me looking like a mess!  This week I will practice being helpful in getting their worlds put together.  Instead of just telling them what needs to be done, I will sit down with them and work to put everything back together where it needs to be.  

3.  Willingness.   I had kind of a hard time figuring out what it meant to be willing with our students.  But I think that the biggest way we can practice willingness is to have the willingness to listen.  We need to listen to their joys and sorrows, to their explanations of wrongs, and maybe sometimes even to their excuses.  So often I jump on an excuse and don't really hear the student out.  I wonder how often I've squashed a perfectly acceptable explanation by saying "Excuses are like armpits...everyone has them, and they all stink!"  

4.  Initiative.   "Take the bull by the horns."  I have a student whom I have become particularly fond of.  He may be one of the most negative souls I have ever met, but he is funny as all get out!  I have begun to make it a point to smile at him and tell him to have a good day everyday--before he can tell me what a horrible day it's going to be.  Taking initiative means we greet our kids first, smile fist, serve first and forgive first.  

Jesus gave us a perfect picture of kindness in the story of the Good Samaritan.  A Jewish man is attacked by robbers and left for dead on the side of the road.  Two religious leaders pass by and do not stop--too good for such a lowly man.  But another man, a Samaritan--who culturally does not get along with Jews (understatement)--stops and takes care of all of the man's needs.  This act of kindness brought two enemies together.  

Do you have a student that has been labeled as a "bad kid" by the school system?  Or maybe a student that is hardly tolerable? Maybe we should attempt to do something kind for those students first. Kill 'em with kindness.  

"Love determines to show thoughtful actions, even when there is no reward.  You will never learn to love until you learn to demonstrate kindness."  

This Week's Dare

In addition to saying nothing negative (patience) to your students this week,  do at least one unexpected gesture as an act of kindness.  

Try to reach as many students as possible.  And remember, as with patience, kindness and gentleness are fruits of the Spirit.  If you've already got the Spirit inside of you, tap into the gifts He's given.  :) 

Praying you have a blessed week.  

Kendrick, S, & Kendrick, A. (2008). The Love Dare. Nashville: B & H Publishing Group.