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You Can Mentor is a network that equips and encourages mentors and mentoring leaders through resources and relationships to love God, love others, and make disciples in their own community. We want to see Christian mentors thrive.
We want to hear from you! Send any mentoring questions to hello@youcanmentor.com, and we'll answer them on our podcast. We want to help you become the best possible mentor you can be. Also, if you are a mentoring organization, church, or non-profit, connect with us to join our mentoring network or to be spotlighted on our show.
Please find out more at www.youcanmentor.com or find us on social media. You will find more resources on our website to help equip and encourage mentors. We have downloadable resources, cohort opportunities, and an opportunity to build relationships with other Christian mentoring leaders.
You can mentor is a network that equips and encourages mentors and mentoring organizations through resources and relationships to love God, love others, and make disciples. Learnmore@youcanmentor.com or follow us on social media. You can mentor.
Speaker 2:Well, hello. You can mentor listener. This is John b, and this is our mentoring minute. Kindness. You know, kindness has that middle child kinda syndrome.
Speaker 2:Right? Yeah. It's a fruit of the spirit, but I think we have, like, this funny relationship with the word, kindness. We know that we're to be kind. We maybe know a few people who we would describe as really kind.
Speaker 2:We would say something like, oh, man, she is she is just so kind. All right. Oh, man, I love him. He is just such a kind person. What a kind soul.
Speaker 2:But if we're being honest, do we, you and I, do we really strive for kindness? Right? Do we really pursue it? Do we really try to make it a component of our lives that we would be described by people as being kind? I think we relegate it to kind of this thing like, okay.
Speaker 2:We're gonna go perform some kind of random act of kindness or we where do we see kind? I mean, you know, we we see it on a granola bar. Those are pretty good, those kind bars. Maybe a little close. If you're from Waco, Texas, you know that we have these coffee shops called be kind.
Speaker 2:And I really do like that by the way, don't you just love something named, this wonderful command of just be kind to each other, be kind to yourself. Okay. But really how important is kindness? Man, is it like a quality that we feel like we're kind if we're kind of these quiet, meek, and timid people? Is it is it like gender specific to be known as kind, to practice kindness?
Speaker 2:No. I don't think so. In fact, I want us to remember that we go back to second Samuel chapter 8. King David, remember, this whole chapter is about him recounting all of his many savage military triumphs. Right?
Speaker 2:We see him on his throne at the very beginning of second Samuel chapter 9 after we've recounted and thought about just how smart and shrewd and and brutal this guy is for the Lord, how he has been successful, how he is a man's man, how he he, gets all of these incredible accomplished men to be his friends and to, fulfill his purpose as well. But then second Samuel chapter 9. Okay? What is he doing? He is sitting on his throne, and he's asking himself, and he's asking the men and people in his court.
Speaker 2:Listen. Is there anybody left in the house of Jonathan that I can show kindness to? I've said this before. I'm gonna continue to say it. I think that is a crazy passage of scripture because it makes no sense.
Speaker 2:Am I right? In this world of overrated masculinity, when we when we think of what a real man's man is, when we go from this passage of scripture talking about how accomplished and incredible this man David is on the battlefield and as a leader, And what is he doing? He's sitting, contemplating kindness that really should rub us the wrong way in our flesh. Right? It really should.
Speaker 2:And it does. And that's for a reason because we need to think about kindness more often. We need to strive for kindness. So kindness was David's goal. Right?
Speaker 2:How can it be ours? I'm not just thinking about talking about this being something that we reconsider or that we emphasize a little bit more. I'm talking about something that is a goal for our lives, in our faith, in our daily walk, and obviously in how we relate to our mentee. So how can it be our goal? Here are 3 steps to consider.
Speaker 2:First of all, think kindness. And now we have to wonder, is Jesus holding our thoughts captive as word says. Right? Do we run everything by the Lord to say, is this something that is valuable? Am I contemplating?
Speaker 2:Am I meditating on what is good and valuable and worthy? Christ, do you have the authority to assign what is what is right in my thinking and what is not? Are you meditating on God's word? Do you strive to have self control in your thought life, or do you just let it happen? It's one of the many important things about our relationship with social media.
Speaker 2:Right? Because what it does is it just kind of puts our thoughts on autopilot as we're being fed, within our scroll, moving pictures and verbiage and whatever we watch. It just doesn't really require that we have discernment in our thinking. And so we need to practice that. We need to consciously be aware of this striving for kindness.
Speaker 2:So I'll say it this way. Sometimes I get bugged by people who aren't like me. Right? When I think a hurtful thought about someone that I don't see eye to eye with, what I do is I stop and I center on one redeeming quality about the person no matter how long it takes. And sometimes, I'll be honest with you, it takes a long time.
Speaker 2:But I wanna kinda give that thought to you to say if there's if there's someone that you just feel unkind thoughts toward, that you would take that moment and prayerfully consider that this is someone that God created and this is someone that maybe they're not living their life for the Lord, but they have the capacity for that, right, to be redeemed. And so what would that look like for this person? So not only the hope for what they can be in in their in their faith, but, you know, what is something about them now that's just a wonderful redeemable quality? Find something valuable about them. That will help to spur on that thinking kindness.
Speaker 2:Number 2, speak kindness. Make yourself say kind words to and about people. Bite your tongue when you need to. You'll remember the Bible says that we're to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. So when you feel yourself speaking overly critical about someone, just stop.
Speaker 2:Number 3, do kindness. Act on the spirits prompting especially when it's inconvenient. Hear me on that. Okay? Again, Jesus said, oh, what is it to you that you like people who like you?
Speaker 2:That's no big deal. You're not you're not using the power of the Lord and doing that. Well, I think it's the same thing when it comes to acting on kindness. Well, if it's easy, of course, you're doing it because it's simple and it makes sense and and you probably benefit in some way. But what about acting on the spirits prompting when it's inconvenient for you?
Speaker 2:When you have to turn your car around and drive back to that person to help them out. Right? When you have to stop your plan for that moment and go to someone and and help. Practice kindness, and I'm telling you, you will see the benefits, and they may only be intrinsic. They may only be as a matter of your, state of mind or just the peace that you feel.
Speaker 2:I'm not saying that your circumstances are going to improve by showing kindness, but I can tell you that it's proven to be a wonderful thing because you'll feel the spirits prompting and you'll know that you're being obedient. So I promise you'll want more of it in your life as well. So those three steps, think kindness, speak kindness, and do kindness. Make the kindness challenge something that you and your mentee can do together, by the way. Challenge each other and encourage each other.
Speaker 2:It'll be fun, and it'll be a bonding experience. So say, hey, Jimmy. By next week, I want you to really be thinking about what it means to to practice kindness, and I want you to report how it went, what was difficult about it, what was awesome about it, and you do the same. And that will be a neat experience for you to share. Hey.
Speaker 2:Wanna remind you before we go that you can mentor.
Speaker 1:Thanks for tuning in to the You Can Mentor podcast. Please share this with other mentors and download our free resources on our website. You can also order Zach's book, You Can Mentor, or John's book, Mephibsheth, on Amazon. Lastly, we'd really appreciate it if you gave us a 5 star rating on whatever listening platform you are tuning in on. If you'd like to connect with us further, please contact us through our website because we're always looking for new guests or connections.
Speaker 1:Thank you. And remember, you can mentor.