Rick Warren's Blog, page 547

Becoming a Kinder Person

The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 15) teaches two very profound lessons about kindness. If you want to genuinely become a kinder person, you must be willing to do two things:

Seize Every Opportunity to Show Kindness

We���ve been looking at lessons about kindness from the story of the Good Samaritan in the Bible. First, the Good Samaritan opened his eyes to see the need around him. Then, he listened to the injured man���s pain and sympathized with him.

Kindness Begins with Listening

If sensitivity to others��� needs begins with your eyes, then sympathy for their hurt begins with your ears. You have to learn to listen! The better listener you become, the more sympathetic you will be.

If You Want to Be Kind, Open Your Eyes

Kindness always begins with the eyes ��� the way you observe the world and are sensitive to the needs of other people.

A Prideful Heart Opposes God. A Humble Heart Surrenders.

One of the most important ways you can practice courageous humility is to surrender your plans to God. However, this is what we usually do: We make our plans without even consulting God. Then we pray and ask God to bless our plans, which we didn���t ask him to be a part of. We assume that our plans are his will. Then, when our plans don���t happen on the timetable we want or they don���t happen at all, we get angry with God. That���s called pride, and God hates pride.

Five Ways to Relax in God���s Grace and Love

Realize nobody���s perfect.
Psalm 119:96 says, ���Nothing is perfect except your words��� (TLB). What society tells you isn���t perfect. What popular opinion tells you isn���t perfect. What you learned growing up isn���t perfect. But God���s Word is perfect. When you get in the Bible and build your life on it, you will have a perfect foundation.

Three Effects of a Teachable Spirit

When you���re learning how to be humble, you have to be willing to listen, learn, and grow and be open to suggestions and corrections from other people. You don���t know it all, and you can���t act like you know it all, either!

Come to God Just As You Are

Everything that Jesus did for you, he did out of love. The Bible says that God made you to love you. The only reason you���re alive is because you were made to be loved by God.

How Often Should You Forgive?

Forgiveness is rarely a one-time event. So how often do you have to keep releasing your right to get even?

Until you stop feeling the hurt ��� then you���ll know you���ve forgiven that person.

Respond to Evil with Good

The Bible says in Luke 6:27-28, ���Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you��� (NIV). Notice these three verbs: ���do good,��� ���bless,��� and ���pray for.��� A big part of forgiveness is responding to evil with good.