Scriptures: Proverbs 3:3, 19:22, Ephesians 4:32, Luke 6:35, Galatians 5:22-23, Proverbs 3:3-4, 1 Corinthians 13:4, Matthew 8:3

A sure way to be a friend and influence, to tear down walls and build bridges, to be the sweetener in your marriage and to grow stature with your parents is to be kind. Kindness is becoming an increasingly rare commodity in our culture. According to a recent magazine poll, 89% of North Americans think rudeness, incivility and lack of kindness has become a serious problem. Yet you'll be hard-pressed to find someone today who doesn't need, or won't accept, a kind word or a kind need. Kindness can kill animosity, bitterness, anger and hard feelings. In this message, Dr. Merritt unpacks the fruit of kindness, and how this Christ-like characteristic can transform not only our own lives, but the lives of those around us.

"How many times have all of us been guilty of having the opportunity to respond to someone with kindness, who was unkind to us, but rather than doing so, said something we soon regretted? Kindness is not only how you act, it is also how you react. I talked about loving our enemies. It is one thing to be kind to a friend. It is another thing to be kind to an enemy. It is one thing to be kind to those who like us. It is another thing to be kind to those who don’t." --Dr. Merritt

Keywords: Fruit of the Spirit, tasty, Galatians 5:22-23, kindness, grateful, gratitude, thankfulness, helpful, deed, humility, Ronald Reagan, governor, California, North Carolina, Michael Deaver, blind, children, face, picture, share, words, warm, helpful, gracious, regret, enemies