Every day is filled with a string of decisions, and these choices often impact the course or route that the day and beyond takes. Some decisions are easy to make, some require more thought and sometimes choices involve sacrifice. A decision that is always available to us is the decision to be kind. 

When you walk into a grocery store, one of the first things you will likely see (if you are in North America at least) is a plethora of apples. Unlike a lot of fruits that I look forward to throughout the year due to their limited seasonal supply, I always have a variety pack of apples to choose from no matter what month it is. 

So, what is the connection between kindness and apples? Well, I think that kindness is always an available option for us, but it isn’t usually a singular route. There are many ways to interact with others and ourselves that would be deemed kind, similar to many varieties of apples, but the key point here is that they are both always available. If I said I’d bring an apple crumble to a gathering, I wouldn’t be concerned at all about purchasing the necessary ingredients. I would have the utmost confidence that I could walk into any grocery store in my town, take a moment to decide which apples I wanted, and walk out with a full bag. In every situation I get into, the question is not if there is a kind way to deal with it but rather, what is the kind way?

When I think of an apple, I think of the imagery of an apple being given to a teacher, so I looked into this. Apparently, there was a time in Scandinavia and other parts of Europe where parents would send their children to school with an item in exchange for the teacher’s service, because they didn’t have the monetary means for their children’s education. Apples were often the item of trade due to being readily available. 

Colossians 3:12  “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

In Colossians chapter 3, we are called to “clothe” ourselves with kindness. At some point throughout your day, it is likely that you decide what clothes to put on. Even if you are required to be in a uniform for school or work, you probably come home and choose which comfy pants to wear that evening. There is usually an element of choice in how you want to present yourself regarding appearance, but in the case of spiritual disciplines, it is much deeper. We choose how we show up in a spiritual way as well.

I find kindness a hard spiritual fruit to define. It’s the act of being “nice” in an intentionally involved way. What I mean by that is having awareness of those around us and making decisions that directly or indirectly have a positive impact. Sometimes the kind thing to do is nothing, the intentional choice NOT to get involved, providing space for others to exist and bloom without judgement. It might look like silent forgiveness of faults someone ignorantly committed. On the other hand, sometimes the choice of kindness is acting, interfering, or providing new information. It certainly seems like a confusing spiritual fruit to navigate but in most of the situations we face each day, I think we see an obviously kind response. That response may look different than the next person who sees things differently. It’s still an apple, but a different variety. The secret weapon with kindness is a sprinkle of empathy, understanding which apple is best for every occasion… even if it’s not your favourite. 

Kindness is choosing compassion without reward. It’s following the example of God who treats us with love and grace regardless of our choices.

Proverbs 31:26  “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.”