On “Name Tag Sunday,” I was scheduled to make the ministry announcements at church. As the lights dimmed, I fished my staff name tag out of my pocket and clicked the magnetic halves together on my lapel before going onstage.
After the announcements, I invited the congregation to turn and greet one another by name. I said hello to the worship team and greeted folks standing in the aisles on the way back to my seat.
After the service, I discovered my name tag was upside down. Not one person mentioned it.
On the scale of great public embarrassments, an inverted name tag doesn’t move the needle. Someone could’ve pointed it out, but not saying anything didn’t harm anyone. However, I hope someone would be kind enough to speak up if spinach were in my teeth or toilet paper stuck to my shoe.
A Biblical View of Kindness
True kindness is more than rescuing someone’s dignity from public embarrassment. The Bible describes kindness as both an attribute of God’s character (Ti 3:4–5) and an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22).
God’s kindness isn’t simply a nice gesture, but a lifeline saving us from sin and death. His loving kindness leads us to repentance and a restored relationship with Him by salvation through Jesus Christ (Rom 2:4).
God wants us to imitate His kindness when dealing with the frailties of others (Eph 4:32). To truly imitate God’s kindness, we need the power of the Holy Spirit working in us.
Biblical kindness calls us to act in the spiritual best interest of others so they grow in faith and spiritual maturity. The apostle Paul says believers can equip and build up the body of Christ by speaking the truth in love (Eph 4:11–15).
Biblical kindness always points people to the truth of God’s Word.
Biblical Examples of Kindness and Speaking the Truth in Love
Let’s explore two case studies from Scripture that use different ways of speaking the truth in love to illustrate biblical kindness.
#1 – Priscilla and Aquila privately teach Apollos (Acts 18:24–26).
Aquila and Priscilla were Jewish tentmakers who helped Paul nurture the fledgling Gentile Christian community in Corinth. They followed him to Ephesus and remained there to lead the ministry when Paul traveled on to Jerusalem (Acts 18:18–19).
We can imagine the couple’s consternation as they stood in the crowd, listening to Apollos speak accurately, if incompletely, about Jesus. Apollos preached about repentance and preparing for the coming Messiah (Mt 3:11), unaware he missed the crucial half of the story.
So Priscilla and Aquila invited Apollos over for dinner. In the privacy and hospitality of their home, this faithful couple explained how the Scriptures had been fulfilled (Acts 18:26).
Apollos welcomed these truths and used them to level up his speaking ministry. He returned to Corinth and became a passionate teacher and expert debater who “vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah” (Acts 18:27–28).
Priscilla and Aquila showed biblical kindness by completing Apollos’ spiritual education. They spoke the truth in love through a gentle, personal conversation that invited questions and discussion.
But sometimes speaking the truth in love demands a more public, confrontational approach.
#2 – Paul publicly rebukes Peter (Gal 2:11–14).
The apostle Peter initially followed Mosaic law by not associating with Gentiles. A rooftop vision in Joppa convinced Peter that God showed no favoritism between Jewish and Gentile believers. Peter abandoned Jewish dietary laws and hung out with Gentiles without reservation (Acts 10:1–11:18).
Until Peter visited Paul in Antioch.
When a delegation of sanctimonious Jews arrived from Jerusalem, Peter feared their judgment and drew back from his association with the Gentiles. The other Jewish Christians in Antioch followed Peter’s lead. Even Barnabas, Paul’s partner in ministry, changed how he behaved toward the Gentiles (Gal 2:13).
Paul was furious at their hypocrisy. By their actions, these influential men discredited their own teaching about the unity of believers.
Paul’s rebuke of Peter was immediate, loud, and very public (Gal 2:14). He called Peter out in front of everyone and accused him of acting against his own professed convictions.
Where is the biblical kindness here? How could this embarrassing public censure exemplify speaking the truth in love? The answer lies in the circumstances.
This public incident involved sinful behavior and a misrepresentation of the gospel. For the spiritual best interest of all involved, Paul needed to set the record straight quickly and publicly. Leaving it unsaid would’ve harmed everyone.
Paul’s rebuke accomplished three things:
- Awareness of sin – By calling attention to Peter’s hypocrisy, Paul highlighted the hypocrisy of the other offenders. Paul’s rebuke echoed in their heads; they were equally guilty and needed to recognize and repent of their sin.
- Accurate understanding of Scripture – Paul reiterated the truth from God’s word that believers are justified by faith, not by works of the law (Gal 2:16). Everyone who witnessed the scene would repeat Paul’s explanation of faith as they spread the story.
- Accountability and restoration – Paul set an example for the believers for handling sin and forgiveness within the body of Christ (Matt 18:15–16).
Paul showed biblical kindness by opposing Peter “because he stood condemned” by the sin of hypocrisy and the deceit of false teaching (Gal 2:11). For the sake of Peter’s soul, and out of love for his brother in Christ, Paul called Peter to repent and did so in front of those who witnessed it.
The Purpose of Speaking the Truth in Love
Speaking the truth in love requires doing what is best for the spiritual growth of another.
For Apollos, truth was best served with coffee and dessert on the living room couch. For Peter, it needed to be bellowed through a megaphone on a crowded street.
Both cases are examples of biblical kindness. Each resulted in the same goal: to point others to the truth of God’s word and to equip them to build God’s kingdom.
Kathleen Giles
Kathleen A. Giles is a Christian speaker, writer, and collaborative author of Reclaiming Me: Embracing Life and Purpose with an Empty Nest. She loves to encourage families to build faith-filled relationships across generations and writes humorously about life, family, and faith from an empty nest perspective at KathyGiles.com. She and her husband live in upstate New York.
