Lord, Help Me Show Kindness to Others Today.

Monday, 1 June 2026Ephesians 4:32

Illustration

Lord, help me show kindness to others today.

Scripture

Ephesians 4:32·WEB Translation

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.

Devotional

Be the Answer

We were at a friend's wedding this weekend, which meant a lot of meeting new people. I am not a massive fan of small talk. The "what do you do" loop runs out quickly, and you rarely gett to know each other.

So I have a few questions I tend to ask instead. When the conversation has settled in a bit, I'll ask:

"What's the kindest thing anyone's ever done for you?"

It almost always changes the temperature of the conversation. People stop and think. Their eyes drift a little. Sometimes they laugh quietly, like they've just remembered something they hadn't thought about in years.

And then the answers come, and they are extraordinary. Someone paid their rent when they were a student or a whole year. A friend came with them to every single chemo treatment. A family from church let them stay for 6 months when they were going through a divorce and lost their home. A teacher who saw something in them that nobody else did.

The stories are wildly different, but there is always a common thread. Whoever the kind person was, they did something that was clearly more trouble than it had to be. They went past the line where the courteous thing would have ended. They didn't stop where the polite version of help would have stopped. They kept going. Above and beyond.

And every time I ask the question, I leave the conversation with the same wish.

I want to be more like that person.

I want to be the someone other people remember when they get asked this question, decades from now. Not for big dramatic reasons, but for the small ones.

Showing up. Staying. Helping when it's inconvenient. Caring when it costs me something I had been planning to spend elsewhere.

That is what Jesus did, all the time. The Gospels are full of stories where He stopped for the one person nobody else stopped for.

He healed when He was tired. He spoke to those who no one else would. He made time for children when his disciples were trying to send them away. He washed the feet of the man He knew would betray Him. Nothing was too much trouble. There was no version of love He thought was beneath Him.

So today's prayer is small but real. "Lord, help me show kindness to others today." Not someday. Not in big moments. Today. To whoever is in front of me. In a way that costs me a little, and means a lot.

You may not be the answer to anyone's big kindest-thing memory. But you might be the answer to the next one.

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Prayer

Lord, help me show kindness to others today, looking for opportunities to be gentle, generous, and thoughtful in how I interact with people around me.

Kindness doesn't always come naturally, especially when I'm tired, stressed, or dealing with difficult people, and I need Your help to choose it intentionally.

Teach me that kindness is more than being nice, it's actively seeking someone's good, noticing needs and meeting them, offering grace when judgment would be easier.

Showing kindness today might mean a smile for a stranger, patience with someone who's slow, encouragement for someone who's struggling, or help for someone who's overwhelmed.

Help me slow down enough to notice opportunities for kindness instead of rushing past them, to see people not as interruptions but as divine appointments.

Remind me that Your kindness toward me is what enables me to be kind to others, that I'm simply passing on what I've received in abundance from You.

Give me eyes to see where kindness is needed, a heart willing to offer it, and hands ready to act on it throughout this day.

Let me show kindness to others today in small ways and big ways, reflecting Your heart, making someone's day lighter, proving that kindness still matters.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

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