La atractiva cualidad de la benignidad

The Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. Therefore, go around the world teaching and preaching the gospel to all creatures, to the end of the earth. En Contacto, the biblical teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley. Today on En Contacto, the attractive quality of benignity. Do you consider yourself a kind person? Think about it for a moment. Are you a kind person? Are you friendly? Are you generous? Are you patient? Are you caring? Are you considerate? And is your company pleasant? You may think, I'm not like that, but I would like to meet someone like that. But let's think about this. A kind person stands out in a group, perhaps not the most talkative, but a kind person has something like an inherent attraction that is there. When someone is kind, not only does he show it on his face, but especially in his actions. And when I think about that and its characteristics, it is very evident that it comes from the Holy Spirit, because Paul says in Galatians 5, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience. We have talked about all of those, and then benignity. Kindness and generosity are two other qualities, but I will leave them with benignity,

because if someone is kind, he will be kind. If he is kind, he will be kind. So instead of taking another message for each one of those, I want to talk about benignity, kindness, and generosity. So when we think about benignity, what comes to mind? Is a person considered kind? Maybe yes or maybe no, but Paul also says in one of my favorite verses about benignity, and it is in Ephesians 4, verse 32, he says, Be benign to one another, merciful, forgiving one another, as God also forgave you. Be benign to one another. Then Paul says in Colossians 3, Dress in benignity. In other words, our responsibility as children of God is to be kind. We have the Holy Spirit, who is the source of our benignity. So the natural flow in our life for those around us must be that kindness, and all those characteristics that we mentioned, friendly, generous, patient, caring, considerate, affectionate. Ask yourself, would that be true of me? Would your children see him as someone kind? Does your husband or wife see him as someone kind? Maybe they say, well, many qualities, but kindness is not one of them. Benignity is a quality very typical of Christ. And there is not much talk about it, but Paul says it is the fruit of the Spirit. In other words, when the Holy Spirit is free to live in us, the fruit that God wants to live, benignity will be one of them. Will we be considerate to others? Will we put our mind in them? When I think about that, I remember, the first lesson I learned about kindness was not very good.

My mother was going to the city one afternoon when I was about 8 or 7 years old or something like that, and she wouldn't let me go with her, which I didn't like. So I told her something. She was going out, down the stairs, I was on the balcony, and I told her something that was not very courteous. I was ashamed to tell her, and I knew I shouldn't have said it. I wanted to go, but she wouldn't let me. This is what she did. She turned around and said, Charles, the Bible says to be benign to one another. I never forgot it, because it came straight to my heart. I will never forget the sound of your voice. Charles, the Bible says to be benign to one another. Benignity is a natural, normal quality of a believer, especially one who is living in the Spirit of God. ¿Sería esto cierto de mí? También recuerdo otro acto que me enseñó mi madre cuando era niño. Mi mamá me dijo, Cuando estés en el bus y se suba una dama, si no hay puesto, dale el tuyo. Le pregunté, ¿Le doy el mío? Me contestó, sí. Y me dijo, Eso es lo cortés y caballeroso. Si lo pensamos, Amabilidad es un atractivo inherente para un hijo de Dios, porque Cristo es nuestra vida, quien da vida a su benignidad dentro y mediante nosotros. Por tanto, una persona amable no solo hace ciertas cosas,

sino de manera automática hay algo dentro de ellos que siempre es sensible a quienes necesitan de benignidad o que de algún modo pueda mostrarle amabilidad. Tal vez la exprese de forma verbal o puede tratarse de alguna acción, pero la benignidad es una cualidad natural de un hijo de Dios. Antes sed benignos unos con otros, misericordiosos, dice, perdonandos unos a otros, como Dios también os perdonó. Sin duda, Cristo fue benigno en su época. Alguien dirá, ¿Por qué cree que es tan amable? Le daré una razón. Bartimea, un ciego, era mendigo cuando lo llevaron a Jesucristo. Él no le preguntó, ¿Qué te sucedió? ¿Por qué estás sentado en la carretera? ¿Por qué estás mendigando? ¿Por qué? No le dijo Bartimeo. ¿Qué quieres que haga por ti? Y contestó, Señor, que reciba la vista. Y le dio la vista. Pero la amabilidad es una cualidad que debe ser cierta de cada uno de nosotros. Si lo pensamos, no hay razón para no ser amable. El fruto del Espíritu, es decir, que debido a que el Espíritu Santo mora en nosotros, tenemos la facultad de ser amables con los demás, pese a lo que sea. Si lo piensa por un momento, escuche lo que dice en Tito, capítulo 3, porque nuestra salvación es un acto de la bondad de Dios. Leamos desde el versículo 4.

Pero cuando se manifestó la bondad de Dios, nuestro Salvador, y su amor para con los hombres, no salvó, no por obras de justicia que nosotros hubiéramos hecho, sino por su misericordia, por el lavamiento de la regeneración y por la renovación del Espíritu Santo, el cual derramó en nosotros abundantemente por Jesucristo nuestro Salvador. Esta es una de las expresiones del Espíritu Santo en nuestra vida, es ser amables. Así que si alguien dice, está lleno del Espíritu Santo, y dice, sí, tiene derecho a esperar que sea amable. No significa ser amable en cada ocasión sin excepción, como un osito de peluche. No. La amabilidad también es fuerte porque reacciona con bondad incluso en situaciones difíciles. Entonces, pregúntese, ¿sería considerado amable? Y luego, por ejemplo, en Romanos, veamos el capítulo 2, el versículo 4, dice respecto a la benignidad en el capítulo 2, versículo 4 dice, O menospreceá en las riquezas de su benignidad, o sea, las riquezas de la benignidad de Dios, lo que significa que Él es muy bueno con nosotros. Piensa en esto. Dios es amable con los malvados. Podría matarlos al instante si quisiera. Dios siempre es bueno. Él es amable, fuerte, deliberado, santo, justo,

pero también es benigno. Y la verdad es que nadie sería salvo si Dios no fuera amable. ¿Es bueno considerado todas esas cualidades, o menospreceáis las riquezas de su benignidad, paciencia y longanimidad, ignorando que su benignidad te guía al arrepentimiento? O sea, nos arrepentimos de nuestros pecados por la bondad de Dios, benignidad, amor, perdón, todo lo demás, todos los frutos del Espíritu. ¿Entonces se considera una persona amable? Si vive con alguien descortés, vive con una carga. Vive con alguien que le maltrata, que le dice cosas feas, hace todo lo que haría la descortesía, eso es muy difícil. ¿Y qué es más difícil que seguir siendo amable en la circunstancia en la cual no se ve benignidad por ningún lado? Es muy difícil. Les diré algo más. Dios recompensa nuestra amabilidad. Recompensa nuestra benignidad. Y mientras más difícil sea la situación si somos amables, Dios recompensará nuestra bondad. He visto eso suceder una y otra y otra vez. So, someone will say, well, what about the people who treat you badly and say terrible things about you? You have to defend yourself. Not necessarily. I'll tell you something else. An act of kindness is sometimes the strongest defense we can have. When someone gives you a good scolding and you stay there calm, what they've discovered is this. They don't know what to do with kindness. I remember one time this happened to me. Someone scolded me and accused me of something that was absurd. I knew how absurd it was, so I stayed there and said,

then when they finished I asked, is there anything else? They fell for it. In other words, you don't fight with kindness. How do you fight with kindness? You can't. It's a contesting element of character. You can't, when someone is very rude to you. Benignity is not an excuse to let people do whatever they want. It's a firm, vibrant quality according to God being kind. Good. And there is no excuse not to be kind. Let's think about some examples of kindness that God has expressed to us. Good. The first is, God forgives us for our sin. Not a single one of us could be proud of something we've done to earn his redemption. So God forgives us. His second way of expressing kindness is to supply our needs. Consider how often he has needed something in life, whatever it is, whether it be something emotional, physical or material. And what happens? God, in his mercy, benignity, kindness, what does he do? He supplies our needs. Because that's how he is. He provides for our salvation, our needs. He also protects us in times of danger. Because that's how he is. How many times have we gone through situations and circumstances in which God has reached us to protect ourselves or our children, whoever they may be, in times of great need? And let's think about this.

We don't even realize how often God has been kind to us. We don't know who plots something against us at work, for example, to take away our job, whatever the case may be, or at home, or whatever. However, God is good and often sends us a sign of alertness, whatever it may be. And let's also think about this. Every prayer answered is an act of benignity from God. No one would say, Lord, I want you to answer my prayer because I did this and that. I want you to answer my prayer because I deserve this. No one could refuse that. God answers our prayers for his mere goodness. What have we done today that is enough to deserve the goodness of God? Nothing. It doesn't matter what we do. If we think about it, God reached us when we were living in sin, and he forgave us of our sins. He wrote our name in the Book of Life. He gave us the gift of eternal life that no one can take away from us. What a gift of goodness! That is wonderful goodness. Remember that he saved us aware that we would not always obey him, aware that sometimes we would not go against his will, aware that sometimes we would not be consecrated, that sometimes we would be selfish, that sometimes we would be proud, arrogant, that sometimes we would not be able to live together. And what did he do? He saved us. And pay attention, not only did he save us, but he reached us to touch us with his divine, supernatural and wonderful loving hand, to keep us until the last moment of our lives when he calls us to his presence. That is his extraordinary goodness.

That is God. Likewise, let us see his promises fulfilled. Every promise that God has made to his children will be fulfilled, each one without exception. Once we have the gift of eternal life, that is a promise that God will always fulfill, no matter what we do, but we will pay the penalty of disobeying him as children of God. In other words, when God makes a promise, he will fulfill it. Now, perhaps you are in the situation where you think, if God fulfilled his promises, he would not let me go through this. Perhaps he took a step out of his will. And what is God doing? He fulfills his promise. How can he fulfill his promise? to fulfill His promise and make me suffer in this way. Because He made a promise. He promised to repent for love if we disobey Him. What does He do? He fulfills His promise. He fulfills His promise. There is no place in life where God does not fulfill His promise. And people go through great adversities in life, often for not having kept His word, not having obeyed Him. And what does God do? He does this. We harvest what we sow, more than what we sow after we sow it. Maybe someone says, what about a promise? Well, that is His promise. If He is sowing a wonderful seed, He loves that, right? If He disobeys God, He does not love it. But it is only God who fulfills His promise.

It is God being good. If He did not do it, we would never know where we are with Him. God is good, no matter what. The soul that sins will die. It is a wonderful divine warning. But it is a warning. It is not a warning because God hates us, but because He loves us. God is good to us. Does He want to tell us in advance what will happen if we do not repent of our sin? We can never accuse God of being ruthless in anything. In truth, no. From time to time someone says, well, if God were good. He would never let this happen to me. We all have something like that. But the truth is that God fulfills His promise. I ask you, would a God, if He could, would a God want to do what He says almost always, sometimes, but from time to time not? Would He want that kind of God? No. We want a God who is always faithful because He is truthful. Now, maybe our category of goodness does not fit. Maybe we all have our category of goodness, and then we have a category of God's goodness that is always genuine. But God is always good when we have difficulties because we have disobeyed the great giver of goodness, who wants the best for us. Of course, God involves Himself personally in our lives.

Think about this. Not only did God save us, but He sent us to the Holy Spirit to involve Himself personally in every aspect of our lives. It is a gift of benignity. Pay attention. God is there, whether we obey Him or not. God wants to express goodness. He loves to show us His goodness. Now, what do you think would happen if He disobeyed God? And we have all done it, if He disobeyed God and said, No one is perfect. Let us forget about that. Do you know what He would do? He would strip Him of His faith in God because He would never know precisely where He is if God allowed Him to go out with something of His own. But benignity involves truthfulness, also discipline and instruction. It involves love, meekness, kindness, and many other things. So, everything is part of it, and also the promise of His presence with us. Listen to this, I will not forsake you nor forsake you. Isn't that goodness? Now, one thing is for someone else to say that, but for God to say it, I will not forsake you nor forsake you. And period. He did not say except, yes, no, but, when, except, who, no. I will not forsake you nor forsake you. God's goodness is indescribable. But it is also palpable. It is pleasant. It is true in our life.

God's goodness. So, I would only say that our lifestyle should be an expression of God's mercy. Now, I will give you several passages so that you can write them down. Proverbs 19, 22 says, Contentment is to men to show mercy. That is Proverbs. What does it say? That contentment is to men to show mercy. What does it say about the world? Muscular, strong, apostle, rich, charming, and all that the world has. The Bible says that what is desirable in a person is kindness. Listen, Proverbs 3, 3. Never let mercy and truth depart from you. Tie them to your neck. Write them down on the board of your heart. In other words, keep them close to our mind and our actions. Listen to this. Never let mercy and truth depart from you. Tie them to your neck, not to your ankle. Not to your knee, why do you tie them to your neck? To have them as close as possible. That is, to be the first. Tie them to your neck. Write them on the board of your heart. In other words, it is not enough to know of mercy. Write it in your heart. It must be part of your being. Keep it close in thought and action. Zechariah 7, verse 9 says,

Have mercy on each one of your brothers. That is, practice it. I am glad that he said have, because sometimes you have to put mercy into practice. Sometimes you may have very difficult moments with your wife or husband, with your children, in whatever, and you have not been very kind. You are sitting there and you think, who told him about me? Nobody. Look, everyone goes through moments in their life in which they are not kind. But what is our responsibility? Look, the Bible does not make mistakes. It not only said to be kind, but to practice it. I would not say that in your home, perhaps sometimes you have had to practice it. Have mercy, because it does not come easily. Then in 1 Peter 2, verse 3 says, If you have liked the benignity of the Lord, which only means to experience it, do you experience the benignity of God? Do you feel it? Now, since your readers had liked or experienced the goodness and grace of God, Peter wants to make it clear that we must realize that it must be part of our life. If someone has to desire any quality in life, kindness would occupy one of the first places. Now, if he is not kind,

allow me to tell you how he should feel with a lot of conviction, ashamed of himself. He should feel that he must go home and confess to his family that he has not been the kind of father or son or daughter or mother that he should be, and that he asks God to forgive him and for them to forgive him, that with his help he wants to begin to be the kind of husband, father, wife, daughter, sister, whoever, he wants to begin to be the kind of person that God wanted him to be. Now, he will say, that is not necessary. Yes, it is, but it requires that he be a true man to do so, a true woman to do so. To say, I have not been kind to you, especially if you have been mistreated. To say, I just want you to know that I have not been as kind to you as I should be, and I want to be. If you help me, I want to be kind. Kindness can change your family. It can change your workplace. It can change your friendships. It can change the people around you. Kindness is a gift from God, provided by the Holy Spirit, and we are the means through which God Almighty speaks to mercy

with whom we live, strange friends, wherever they may be. Kindness. Now, there is something you cannot say, I don't know how to be kind. Of course you can. Just do the good in the eyes of God. It will change your family. Look, you only need one person to change a whole family. It will change the environment where you work. You will not know what happened. It will change the environment. It will change the atmosphere at dinner time. It will change all the excitement in the morning when everyone gets ready to go in ten different directions, and you prepare breakfast. Kindness changes everything. Now, if you have not accepted Christ as your Savior, that will not work, because He gives the gift of His kindness to those who are His children, those who have accepted Him. So I encourage you to ask the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive your sin, your lack of kindness, everything you have said and done,

that has hurt those around you, whether at home, where you work, where you play. Ask God to change your life in such a way that when you see Him, you know that something has happened in your life. He is not the same person, because God now expresses His kindness through you. Father, we love you, we praise you, and we thank you for your goodness that we could never fully understand. When we see the cross, we see the most powerful example, unforgettable, eternal of goodness. Even without deserving it, you loved us anyway. I ask that the Holy Spirit speak to each person here today, to my heart and to every heart. To examine, are we kind in our actions? Do we show it? Father, examine our hearts. Do we show kindness in adversity, trials, suffering, rejection, wounds, pain? Show us that we have the Holy Spirit, who will enable us, even in the midst of someone else hurting us, to be kind and to forgive them. You have been so good to us. Teach us to be kind to everyone we know. Father, we love you for your kindness to save us. And we bless your holy name today. Amen. you