Welcome to The Woodland MarriedPeople 30-Day Kindness Challenge! For the next several weeks, you will learn about and experience the transformational power of kindness. We hope you gain great insight into your marriage, other personal relationships—and yourself.
It’s often said that any journey begins with just one step. And if it is a journey to change, we often need to
understand “the why.”
- Why do you think you might want to do The 30-Day Kindness Challenge with your spouse?
In Luke 10: 25-37, an unidentified Jewish expert in biblical law has a discussion with Jesus. He understands that we are to love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind, and our neighbors as ourselves. “But,” he asks Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus answers with the parable of the Good Samaritan. A Jewish man is robbed, beaten, and left for dead. Several “good men” (and fellow Jews), pass by but do not help. Yet, a Samaritan stops to help. (Remember, Jews and Samaritans viewed each other
as unworthy and sworn enemies.) Through the story, Jesus explains that our neighbor is anyone who needs help and we should show kindness unconditionally.
a) How were the “good” men unkind to the injured man? More importantly: Do you think that they considered themselves to be unkind? How might we, in our day-to-day lives, similarly justify unkindness toward our spouse through our actions (or inactions), our words (or silence), or attitudes?
We all need to grasp that we can be unkind, ungrateful, and so on without ever considering ourselves to be so. In marriage, we may not be intentionally hurtful like those in this parable (hopefully!), but we may sometimes justify unkind attitudes, words or actions toward our spouse. Or we may simply ignore our spouse’s needs or not pause to help when they need a helping hand perhaps out of busyness or inattention. In the end, what matters is not intent, but impact.
A Ministry of Woodland Community Church 