GARMENT 2: KINDNESS

Kindness isn’t just how you treat people you like — it’s how you treat everyone. People you may never see again. People who can’t repay you. Even people you don’t trust.

It’s easy to be kind to those you respect — kids, pastors, friends, coworkers. True kindness shows up in the small moments you could excuse or ignore: the slow cashier, the waiter who forgot you, the security guard you pass without learning her name.

Kindness sees everyone as image-bearers of God — not extras in your story, but souls with eternal worth. Paul’s call in Colossians 3 isn’t fake politeness; it’s carrying the tone of heaven into ordinary places.

IT’S IN THE HOW

Kindness isn’t just about being helpful. It’s about how you show up.

• It’s the smile that puts someone at ease.
• The compliment that lifts a coworker’s confidence.
• The tone you choose when you could snap.
• The moment you slow down enough to actually listen.
• The unexpected courtesy you extend to a stranger.

Anyone can offer assistance. Kindness offers presence. It’s the relational tone of heaven — gentle, respectful, full of light. The world is loud with busyness, criticism and competition. Kindness is what catches people off guard in the best way.

KINDNESS BUILDS CULTURE AT WORK

In the workplace, kindness doesn’t mean being passive or avoiding hard conversations. It means delivering truth with honor. It means making someone feel human in a room that treats them like a resource. Kindness at work looks like:

• Holding the door for the intern — not to be polite, but to set a tone.
• Giving someone your full attention in a meeting — not just nodding while you type.
• Complimenting the janitor with the same sincerity you’d give the CEO.

Leadership expert Jon Gordon says, “Kindness isn’t just a nice idea — it’s a competitive advantage.” Why? Because it creates a culture people want to be part of. And in a world of pressure, that’s rare.

DOUG CONANT’S HANDWRITTEN NOTES
Doug Conant, former CEO of Campbell Soup Company, became known for writing over 30,000 handwritten thank-you notes to employees and clients during his tenure.

This wasn’t a PR move; it was deeply personal. As he said, sending those notes showed people that “I am personally paying attention and celebrating their contributions.” When he was later hospitalized after a serious accident, those same employees flooded him with handwritten messages of encouragement—proof that his kind investment created a culture that cared back.

CHALLENGE QUESTIONS

1. When you think of someone who’s truly kind, what stands out most — their words, their actions, or their presence? Why?
2. Where in your life are you most tempted to overlook people — to treat them like background noise instead of image-bearers?
3. How does your tone or body language change depending on someone’s status, usefulness, or how they treat you?

PRAYER

Father, thank You for Your kindness — patient, undeserved, relentless. Help me reflect that same heart in how I speak, lead, and interact with others today. Let me honor people not because they’ve earned it, but because they’re Yours.

ACTION STEP

Choose one ordinary space in your weekly routine — your commute, lunch break, or walk into work — and make it your kindness zone. Not a checklist, but a mindset. Each day, ask God to help you see people there as He does — with dignity and purpose.

Start small: a smile, a name, a thank-you. Ask the Spirit to break your autopilot and grow a heart that honors people for who they are, not what they do. Do it daily and watch God reshape your posture, not just your behavior.

KINDNESS
Treating others with dignity, warmth, and honor — not because of who they are to you, but because of who they are to God.