“and he raised us up together and seated us together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus in order that he might demonstrate in ages that are coming, the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”

(Ephesians 2:6-7)

One of the distinctly Christian ideas that Paul mentions here is the idea of kindness. The word in question is the Greek word χρηστότης (chrestotes), which speaks of how one interacts with others. In particular, it captures the notion of walking with integrity and righteousness toward other people while also having a spirit of benevolence towards them. In other words, your desire is to see them succeed and whatever they are seeking to achieve and that there is no sense of animosity that would lead you to slight that person in any way for said success.

Conceptually, the idea is simple enough, but how rarely it is genuinely practiced in the western world. How often, what is found is much more cutthroat and much more selfish. Granted, in context, Paul is speaking of the way that God acts toward believers; yet, given that we are called upon to imitate God, this is one of the areas in which we should be imitative.

So, what is the solution? The solution is simply to go out of your way to practice kindness toward others. Not only will you be imitating God, but it will demonstrate to the world that you are different because of that relationship with God and perhaps, even in these acts of kindness, you will discover that your witness speaks volumes.