FRIDAY FRUIT: Kindness and Goodness

As each Friday rolls around, I contemplate which of God's "Fruit of the Spirit" may have been evident in my life for the day.  Today it seemed kindness and goodness were the ones which caught my attention.  Then the question arose in my mind, "What exactly is the difference between the two?"

One of the resources I enjoy using is a website called BibleGateway (www.biblegateway.com), which allows you the freedom of comparing many different versions and translations of the Bible.  It also has a search feature which easily gives access to the different sections of the Bible by entering either a chapter and verse listing, or any key words you might recall.  I knew the fruit of the spirit verses were in Galatians, but didn't recall the exact verses.  A simple search of "fruit of the Spirit" brought me to the list I love so well:

But the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,

patience, kindness, goodness

faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Against such things there is no law.
~Galatians 5:22-23

 

Accessing the various options available, I found most were consistent in using the words "kindness" and "goodness".  A few replaced "kindness" with "gentleness" and "generosity" was the most frequent alternative to "goodness".

 

As another resource I pulled out my mother's large "Readers Digest Great Encyclopedia Dictionary".  Although nowadays we have the power to readily access definitions on the Internet, I somehow still enjoy pulling out the three inch thick volume and paging through to find the information needed. 

 

The first definitions listed were a "no brainer".  Kindness is the quality of being kind and goodness is the quality of being good.  Pressing on for deeper clarity, I found kindness associated with good will, kindly disposition and a kind act or service.  On the other hand, goodness lined up with excellence of character, morals and having virtue, having generous and kindly feelings, benevolence and goodness of heart. 

 

Thinking back on my day, it included giving my mother-in-law a ride to her hair appointment, delivering posters around town about an upcoming gospel quartet concert and arranging my flowers into six small vases.  Three of them have already been delivered and the remaining arrangements will be shared tomorrow.  Seems to me both kindness and goodness fit for the day.  The smiles and words of appreciation received in return made it all worthwhile.  And the housecleaning can wait for another day!