God’s Lovingkindness

In 2006, Baylor University conducted a study on the way Americans view God. 31% of the population believe in an 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐝, 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. 16% believe in a 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝗼𝗱, 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. 23% believe in a 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗱, 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱. Only 25% believe in a 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗱, 𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.

An interesting fact is that the majority of Christians who live in the South believe in an angry, authoritarian God; if you want to believe in a benevolent God, you have to live in the Midwest! Studies show that if you believe in an angry God, chances are that you will struggle with anxiety, paranoia, obsessional thinking, and compulsions! The ramifications of a belief in an angry God will begin to show in your health, from anxiety to ulcers and insomnia.

The Word of God paints a very different picture of God’s character. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱’𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝟮𝟰𝟴 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗹𝗱 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲! Biblical scholars complained that there was no word in English that could adequately convey the Hebrew word ‘Chesed’ or ‘Hesed’ and so have used lovingkindness, steadfast love, loyalty, kindness, and mercy. None of these words can sufficiently convey God’s steadfast and persistent love for his people. God’s lovingkindness is that sure love that will never let you go.

‘Chesed’ means the ability to get right inside the other person’s skin, until we can see with his eyes and feel what he feels. Persistent and unconditional tenderness. God will always be kind to you because that is His nature. God is kind – just as we say God is good (all the time), so God is kind, all the time. The very moral core of the covenant was described using the word ‘chesed,’ God declared that he would show his lovingkindness “𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔”. Exodus 20:6. God has covenanted with you to show you kindness.

Psalm 26:3 says, “𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔, 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉.” God’s lovingkindness is something we are to declare, we are to talk about, we are to tell our children about, to always have before our eyes! If His ‘chesed’ is before our eyes, our focus will not be on his anger but on his steadfast lovingkindness.

So, where does that leave us – as God’s people, should we be kind? Or when someone does something that isn’t in line with what we believe, should we ask that the LORD’s judgment be visited upon them? Kindness for me, but judgment for them? Instead, we should pray that the LORD is kind to them, that he showers them with his ‘chesed’ – for “𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆.” We need to pray, as Paul did, that the Father would grant us the spirit of wisdom and revelation, that we would know Him more, that He would crown us with His lovingkindness. That His kindness would always be before us, that we would pray, ‘𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗲.’