Fruit of the Spirit (5) Kindness

“The fruit of the Spirit is…….KINDNESS. (Galatians 5:22)
The phrase used by Jesus in one place is remarkable for the clue it gives to its practical meaning of kindness. Jesus say, “My yoke is easy” (Matthew 11:30). The Word “easy” there is our word “KIND.”
In Bible times a farmer would take his ox to the carpenter to be fitted with a yoke. After taking measurement the carpenter would rough out a yoke before calling the farmer back to have the yoke exactly fitted to the animal’s neck. Obviously the animal would not be happy or efficient if the yoke chaffed or caused irritation in any way.
Jesus followed his earthly father’s profession before he began his ministry. Someone has suggested that the sign over Joseph’s carpenters shop was, “My yokes fit well.” We don’t know if that is true – but we do know that Jesus said, “My yoke is kind.”
“KINDNESS’ enables us to fit easily into society. The Holy Spirit brings into a believer’s life a quality that enables him to mix easily with other people. Gone is the old bitterness, antagonistic, censorious spirit – kindness now takes its place. A man’s heart is filled with what Alfred Plummer calls a “sweetness of temper which puts others at ease and shrinks from giving pain.
We need to know God first, of course, the old Chinese proverb sums it up well – “He who is not at peace with heaven, cannot be at peace with himself, or his neighbour.”