Please

The Spanish football league has received many Brazilian players in recent years.

Most of them are known to be excellent players, and that is not surprising for a country that has been a World Cup winner on five different occasions.

Amongst those players have been some who profoundly trust God. This is the case of DORIVA, player of Celta Vigo in Spain, and later in the English Middlesbrough team, who is known not only for his footballing abilities, but also for his kindness on and off the field.

The Bible shows us that one of the characteristics of God's nature is kindness. The fruit of the Spirit of God is love, joy, patience, KINDNESS, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

When people cursed Jesus, despised and insulted him, he answered by blessing them. Never on the earth was anyone as kind and good as Jesus. Children enjoyed being with him, and nobody ever got an inconsiderate answer from the Saviour.

To be kind - how difficult it is! To react with a blessing when people curse you: to speak goodness when you are being criticised; to help when everybody is laughing at you; to carry on serving others even though they make fun of you. Yes, kindness has a price, and it is very difficult to pay it.

However, God tells us that we must be kind, and moreover, when we treat other people with love and kindness, we reflect the very character of God!

Few things open as many doors as kindness. Today we have read: “The memory of the righteous will be a blessing” . You yourself can verify it. What type of people do you remember the most? Those who have been kind to you, or those who have behaved in an inconsiderate manner?

To be kind does not mean to take a person for granted, or to betray their trust. To be kind is to be the first to help others.Moreover, God tell us that even when we get angry, we have to be kind.

If you are able of being angry with somebody for what has happened, and at the same time loving them and being kind to them, you have learned a lot about the character of God.

God doesn't want us to be “lighting fires” everywhere we go, destroying people without a thought, however spiritual we think we may be. The Spirit of God shows himself in us when we are kind.

When you leave a place, how do you do it? Slamming doors? If you have been somewhere and you have had to leave because of a problem, do you leave the door open? Are you kind? Or do you shut the door in such a way that you will never be able to enter again? (You know this is just an illustration.)

The Spirit of God shows us how to be kind. Next time, when you plan to do or say something, ask for permission.