Have you ever had a person really upset at you? I am sure you have. That’s life. Sometimes people get upset at us. But have you ever had a person upset at you for no reason? It happens. And when this person or persons start to get ugly and nasty to you, the natural reaction for most is to get down on their level and get nasty back to them.
When someone is nasty to you, the one thing that they absolutely hate (it’s conviction) is when you are sweet and loving to them. Killing them with kindess, as the saying goes. Being kind to a nasty person makes the person who is being nasty even more angry and upset at you. Forgiving the nasty person makes them squirm. They hate this! They expect you to be as angry and nasty as they are, but when you are not, they become even angrier and nastier.
Killing with kindness and love isn’t really for them, it’s for you. While they are full of hate and anger, you are full of peace, love, and joy. While you are smiling from the peace that is within your heart, they are sqirming mad because you are loving them and being kind to them, even as they seeth in anger and bitterness.
The hope in being kind and loving to an ugly and bitter person is that perhaps the kindness and love will sink down into their cold hard hearts, warming and softening them, so that they lose their anger and bitterness. There is hope for some of these people! Never give up on them! Some are using you for a virtual punching bag of sorts. They are so full of anger and bitterness and need someone who will love them and be kind to them, no matter what kind of nastiness comes forth from them. They are searching for love and acceptance, for someone who won’t give up on them, for someone to be kind to them, in their worst moments.
Killing with kindness won’t change everyone, and it won’t change most overnight. But in time, it will change those that truly wish to be change. It will open the hearts of those that really want to let go of their anger and hatred. It will warm the hearts of those that are hurting and lost.
So when we say to kill with kindness, the thing that is dying is the anger, allowing room for love and peace to live where once there was anger. Killing with kindness isn’t just a blessing for the person who needs the love and kindness, it’s a blessing for you to give it. It shows what lives in your heart…. peace, love, joy.
