Hindrances to Kindness Part 2
Last week’s blog listed four hindrances to kindness and this week I wanted to give you a few more. I’m going to be on this subject of kindness for the next few weeks, as I believe it is so vitally important for us to exercise kindness. Here are a few more hindrances to kindness:
1. Greed is another reason kindness has taken a backseat. Many people are focused on their own lives, on getting ahead and doing whatever is necessary to beat the other guy. People are more interested in taking care of their own self before they reach out and extend some type of kindness to others. We’ve become a society of “me first” that wasn’t seen as often just a few years ago.
2. Fear causes us to withdraw from others. Living in crowded cities among strangers can make you quickly hide your natural tendency to be generous and kind to others. With crime, kidnappings, murders and other fears running wild in many cities, people have found it safer to keep to themselves. Road rage keeps people from stopping to help someone with car trouble. There is fear that we will be attacked for what we say or do. We don’t want to appear vulnerable and to get hurt so we attack with words and actions as a way to self-protect ourselves.
3. Technology has allowed us to behave in unkind ways without having to apologize for our behavior. We text our friends if we are running late, so it’s no big deal, right? Actually, it’s quite unkind to devalue someone’s time by being late, especially if it’s done over and over again. Saying, “I’m sorry I was late ” in person is the kind thing to do. Another way technology is It’s taken away the common courtesies of saying, “Thank you, Hello, Nice to meet you, Pardon me, Please, and How can I help you”, just to name a few.
There is no doubt the world is very different than it was 30 years ago. We believed in being kind to each other, as a nation. People and children were taught to respect others and to be trustworthy and honest. Kindness has taken a backseat to greed, fear, and technology. Rather than showing kindness, we’re afraid of getting ignored, taken advantage of, or hurt. However, God will show kindness to those who are kind to others, so let’s remove any hindrances to kindness and obey what Jesus said in Matthew 7:12, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.”
Do you want more kindness in your life? Do you want to learn how you can show more kindness? Schedule a free coaching meeting at christianlifecoachtools.com today!
