3 True Components In A Random Act of Kindness

A random act of kindness has these three features: it’s to be done now, for no reason, and for no credit.

Jesus is the reason for the season,

Kindness works in every season and region,

Do Random Acts for no reason,

Do your kindness in secret.

God gave us his Son — the grace of which implies such an act of kindness as to resemble what we, from our human viewpoint, could only do as a random act.

For us to replicate the immensity of God’s act of kindness we need it to be random, such that our partialities and prejudices don’t get in the way.

This is understood three ways:

Firstly, we typically hang back on doing kindness. God never did. We find every excuse in the book, at times, to resist giving a kindness. Yet we can all recall a time when we did a good thing without delay, reason or credit and we were incredibly blessed as a result.

To give now is to give in obedience to the Holy Spirit.

Secondly, we do kindnesses, but we do them for a reason, which usually involves a favour returned. How many times have we given something to someone, or done something nice, thinking even subconsciously, “there’s a favour owed now”? This is particularly the case if we find it easy to give, yet not so easy to receive. Whether the favour is returned or not, as human beings we cannot help think what might follow. To give with no reason alludes to no human (corrupt) intention. To give with no reason means we give with our right hand in such a way as to not let the left hand know what we’re doing. In other words, to give without reason attempts a purely spiritual endeavour.

So, to give, as prompted by the Spirit,
is to give now, with no reason.

Thirdly, we tend to do our kindness for our credit. Good things done usually have about them recognition, which esteems to us, value. We’re valued and we feel valuable. Yet, do we trust in the Lord enough to do our good deed with no need of reward? If we did, we’d find ourselves very comfortably sat inside the intent of Jesus’ Sermon in Matthew 6. And that ought to always be our goal.

A perfect random act of kindness is done now, for no reason, for no credit.

Each of these three components removes three barriers as we take our humanness out of the equation of love. This understands that love comes from God in us, and not inherently from us within ourselves.

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Jesus is not just the reason for the Christmas season, though it’s been helpful to reclaim that idea. Jesus is the reason for kindness in every season, because the Father showed such an immense and unremitting kindness in giving his Son for us all.

Random acts of kindness are God’s perfect will in and for every season.

© 2015 Steve Wickham.