Strength and Kindness

Once hath God spoken, twice I heard this, 

That `strength [is] with God.'
And with Thee, O Lord, [is] kindness, 

For Thou dost recompense to each, 

According to his work!

~ Psalm 62:11, 12 

(Young's Literal Translation) 

Strength and kindness. In our superlative society we have terms like viral and GOAT. If there's not some sort of exceptional quality attached to something, the message seems to get lost in the sauce. Do we plainly tell our children to "be kind" anymore? Now, we tell them they can "be anything they want," including a cat or a person of the opposite sex. Do we teach them about humility, the evidence of inner strength and character? Most likely we encourage them to "be the best" at whatever they do, up to and including video games, basketball, and even working the system to their advantage. It's a tough world out there, you say. We've got to teach our children how to survive it. It doesn't get any tougher than walking miles every day just to share the good news of salvation to people who were only looking for handouts (John 6:1-26). It doesn't get any tougher than choosing homelessness (Matthew 8:20) for the sake of healing and feeding and transforming the lives of as many people as you can reach and having your selflessness and your sanity questioned by your own family (Mark 3:20, 21). It doesn't get any tougher than being pursued day after day by your detractors (Matthew 16:1-6, 21), working to undo every seed you've planted, when the garden you came to set in bloom is theirs as well (John 3:16). It doesn't get any tougher than loving people enough to cry with them and for them (John 11:35; Matthew 23:37-39), and having your kindness repaid by being labeled a criminal, betrayed and abandoned by your friends, beaten almost to death, and then hung in shame and mocked until you took your last breath. Strength and kindness. The strength and kindness found in our God and come to earth in the form of His Son, Jesus.

As I was reading the above passage in Psalms this morning, it dawned on me how the word kindness has sort of fallen out of use, and just how perverted the American definition of strength has become. Kindness has taken on a milquetoast character. Why be kind when you can be the best or the most generous or the first? Kind is for the little red-haired girl, the object of Charlie Brown's childish crush. And strength means anything but the character of Christ. Strength isn't washing the feet of your betrayer, or your denier, or those who will flee your side when your enemies come. Strength isn't remaining quiet when you are falsely accused and broken. Strength isn't enduring every undeserved blow, every calloused insult, every burning lash. Strength isn't asking your father to forgive those who were apathetic or even, responsible for your murder. Oh, but it is! And kindness is a mighty force with which to reckon!

To feed those who have damaged you is to fly in the face of bitterness and unforgiveness that would destroy you. It is to tear down walls and crush the enemies of isolation and hate. To stand silently while others rant and rave and spit in your face is to hold your ground, to understand the work of the Adversary in a heart not fully healed, and affirm our resurrectionary God is truth and will never leave you or turn His back on you. It is to stand on the Rock and command the higher ground. To pray and fast --to give up a meal or a day of meals (!) in prayer for those who make it their life's work to destroy you and everything you uphold is strength and kindness --strength and kindness that breaks the bonds of evil, transforming entire landscapes to the glory of God. What the world calls weak and irrelevant is the very character of God, and by His strength and His kindness He holds every man accountable. Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! (1 Corinthians 15:17)