A kind act or the quality of kindness in a person has a drawing power that gives you favor with people.

My neighbor is Italian and fixes tasty dishes and desserts which from time to time she shares with us. Her kindnesses gives her favor with me. One afternoon, when she needed someone to look after her eight year old son, I had other plans but I rearranged them to help her out.

When I visit her, my sister gives me little gifts she knows I would like, a delicate mug with roses on it, floral notepads, a bouquet of flowers. These small gifts of kindness endear my heart to her.

Other friends email me or speak to me with words of affirmation, words which encourage and words which make me feel loved. Kind words give us favor with people. They bind our hearts together because everyone likes to feel valued and cared for.

I often will go the extra mile to say a kind word of encouragement to a sales clerk or friend or on facebook. When I see someone doing something positive, I make an effort to acknowledge it because I understand that this encourages more of the same kind of behavior.

When you show common courtesies or be considerate of others, you show kindness to that person.

Each time you do a kind act, we make a deposit in that person’s life. Those deposits help when you have a conflict. The recollection of kind deeds helps you to value that person enough to work through issues and forgive grievances.

There are 1,000 ways to be kind to people. Think about ways you can do kind acts to your family and friends as well as strangers. The result? You will encourage others and make them feel good and you will find you have more favor with people. An added benefit is that it will be easier to work through conflicts because you have a base of good will. Additionally, when you do address a conflict with someone if you try to do it in a kind way, people will receive it better.

For more insights on the power of kindness, see my previous post, What is a Power that Can Draw People to You Like a Magnet?

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)

What kindness mean something to you? What are some of the kind things you like to do? Share with us in the comments below.