The Anatomy Of Kindness
One central dogma of the Christian faith that my many (many) years as a Catholic school girl has taught me is the virtue of kindness. At a very young age, schools teach children that being kind is something that gains you a ticket to this wonderful kingdom up in the sky or in outer space, or wherever a young, inventive mind would imagine heaven to be situated in. I remember sitting in class, stuck in a too tiny, too tough chair, listening to my Christian Living teacher discuss kindness, and how being a good girl would pay off in the future. That Jesus took good girls up to heaven with Him, where the people knew no pain nor struggle nor suffering.
As a child, this was a rather enticing offer. All I had to do was be good to other people and I’d go to heaven, wherever heaven was. It seemed like a very welcome reprieve from all the ails that troubled a young girl of six or seven. Growing up, this notion – of kindness, of having a good heart led you to eternal peace – was further emphasized by countless homilies and sermons that I’ve heard in my life. Priests and members of the clergy alike talk about kindness as if it were the sole anchor that kept us Christians from going too far away from the light. Many people over the years have come up with different ways of describing kindness, however hard it is to put a label on such an abstract concept. Mark Twain wrote, “Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. ” This implies the universal nature of kindness and the common experience we as humans have with it. Anyone from any walk of life or social status has encountered kindness. There exists no boundaries when it comes to this virtue. St. Paul referred to kindness as one of the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit. Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher, describes kindness in a rather eloquent fashion.
Kindness along with love, he says, is the most curative herb and agent in human intercourse. He emphasizes the relevance of kindness, implying even that it is central to human existence and interaction. Aristotle, a prominent philosopher from Greece, defines kindness as “helpfulness towards someone in need, not in return for anything, nor for the advantage of the helper himself, but for that of the person helped. ” His approach in the definition of such an intangible, abstract concept is relatively more direct than that of Nietzsche. Breaking down his statement, there are two fundamental elements of kindness. The first one, being a person in need of helping in the first place. How then would kindness be exercised if there does not exist a person that is in need of it? Secondly, and I think, more importantly, is a desire to improve someone else’s circumstances, without wanting any compensation. Kindness, therefore, is not just helpfulness towards someone who is down on their luck, or on the wrong side of fate. It is arguably more than that. Kindness, in my opinion, also implies selflessness.
One does not think of himself when doing acts of a good nature. That is what Aristotle says, at least. And I must say that I agree. Kindness should have no ulterior motive, and should be done solely for the benefit of the downtrodden, rather for some form of moral or spiritual gratification. Kindness should be executed without expecting a medal for your seeming goodness. It should be done simply for the sake of being kind. Is it then even kindness, if one is only good to enter heaven? Is it still a good deed if one ultimately only does it to gain a ticket past the Pearly Gates? Take for example a politician who only engages with the communities he has sworn to protect and aid in the quest for progress when the elections loom once more in the horizon. Sure, he may do them a lot of good during the campaign season, distributing food and clothes, but he has an ulterior motive for doing so. He does this so he can once more gain the people’s votes. Is it then kindness? Is it goodness, still? Actions like this go against what Aristotle said regarding kindness. Kindness should be done for the interest of the people who are oppressed or in a tough situation. It shouldn’t be done to gain merits, or to gain recognition, whether by other people or by God. It is not kindness if one is only kind to get into heaven. It is lying. I would even go so far as to call it hypocrisy. A good person is good because he is. Not because of some reward he gets in the afterlife. A kind person is kind because he is. Not because he is enticed by the concept of heaven. It is hypocritical to call yourself a good and kind person if you only do it for yourself. Be kind because there are people who need people to be kind to them. Not because you want to get into heaven. Be kind without any thought of yourself. Be kind simply because that is what is right. Be kind because that is what we need more of: kindness.
