LIFE Podcast Show

[00:01] Dez: Welcome to the Life podcast, where we offer real hope to real people dealing with real life. We filter our thoughts through God's thoughts and our ways through God's ways. We pray you're blessed by this podcast. Enjoy the show. Living intentionally for eternity, people, we're back and I'm joined by my guy. I haven't said this in a long time, but my guy is back in the building. The creepy crawler himself, the smoothest man to ever walk in the land. The man who levitates and feet never hits the ground. My guy, Dave oots. What's up, sir?

[01:18] Dave: Feel surprised you're talking about me when you say that, my brother? What's going on, Dave?

[01:26] Dez: How has it been, brother?

[01:28] Dave: Oh, man, it's been a long time, hasn't it? Since we've done this, boy, since we've been on camera and on the microphones. But you know how we go. We constantly in conversation and talking. So it has been. I think the last time we tried to do it, the sound wasn't right. But that was some time ago, man.

[01:48] Dez: It's been a time trying to get you back on this show. So I know you got some good stuff to say because it's been forever trying to get you here. But I'm grateful you back. I'm grateful you back with us on a life podcast, we try to filter our thoughts through God's thoughts. We try to filter our ways through God's ways, and we try to filter our perspectives through God's perspectives. It is evident that in our day there is a virtue that is lacking. With all the decision and divisions and the fractions and factions going on in our day, we can all show a little bit more of what we're going to discuss today on the podcast and that I'm looking forward towards. I'm looking forward to our topic. We're not going to be brief, but we will be biblical. So hopefully, I think that this conversation may be engaging, not necessarily entertaining, and I just hope that it may bring fruit to the body of Christ and also to our lives. Because what we're going to talk about today is essential for human flourishing.

[02:56] Dave: Amen. Amen.

[02:57] Dez: Because it's rough out here, right, dad?

[03:01] Dave: It definitely is, man. And when you breached the subject to me, it didn't surprise me, but it was like one of those things like, yeah, you're right. Because every day, man, we deal with stuff that you just go, the selfishness of folks, it bewilders you, it frustrates you, and it just makes you want to just quit. On society sometimes, but praise God, man. We have a foundation, man, that's grounded in Christ, and we just continue to pray for people and show people what it looks like to be a disciple of Christ.

[03:40] Dez: Amen. Couldn't have said any better. Listen to this, and hopefully you'll pick up on what we're going to talk about in the next 30 seconds. Aldous Huxley. Aldous Huxley, famous american philosopher, as someone may say. Some may say. He said this one time, and it's our life point for today. It says, it is a little embarrassing that after 45 years of research and study, the best advice I can give to people is to be a little kinder to each other.

[04:20] Dave: Amen.

[04:22] Dez: Again, Aldox Huxley, an american philosopher known for his philosophy and its effect on american social system. He has some good stuff to, you know, as the Bible says, don't be caught captive by empty philosophies. But it didn't say, don't ever listen to philosophy. It said, empty philosophy. So all wisdom, as the adage says, is God's wisdom, all true, God's truth. Again, our life point today is from Aldox Huxley. He says, it is a little embarrassing that after 45 years of research and study, the best advice I can give to people is to be a little kinder to each other.

[05:03] Dave: Amen.

[05:04] Dez: But Christ says something that trumps all of that. Christ says, do unto others as you will want done unto you.

[05:15] Dave: Amen.

[05:16] Dez: So today we're going to be talking about kindness and why it's so hard for human beings to show it, to do it, to practice it right. So I think it's necessary for us to talk about kindness, because I just see just so much division, and 2024 is about to be crazy because it's about to be another presidential election, and people are about to be ridiculous on Twitter and these social media platforms and your coworkers. And it's the family is going to get separated because people are not going to be able to just be kind, make allowances for each other's differences. You know, that's coming, right? We already know that's about to come. So I'm just interested in seeing how all this stuff going to work out because it's going to be crazy. But you have Jesus on one hand saying, listen, if you don't want someone to do that to you, don't do it right, doing to others as you want done to yourself. And then you have this philosopher saying, hey, I've studied people for 45 years, and I've done the psychoanalysis. I've done this, I've done that. Modern psychology. I've sat and thought with the greatest thinkers like Plato and Aristotle, and the best thing I can come up with is just be kind. Just be kind, right. Just be kind. So, dad, what do you think about those two things that this philosopher and what Christ has to say? What's your initial thoughts?

[06:43] Dave: I mean, the first sentence of that is after 45 years of research, right. That in and of itself, lets you know that it's a simple answer. When somebody says, after 40 years of research, I've come to conclusion that just this simple, just be kind to one another. Right. That just lets you know, man, that it's not hard. It's a human trait that I'm sure is innate in all of us. We just choose not to follow it. I think that what he said, man, is eye opening. But at the same time, it's really just a basic principle, man, that we've gotten away from on so many levels. Has it always been like this? Of course. There's always been a lack of kindness because that's what sin does. Right? Yeah, that's what sin does. But we feel like in our part of the world, in our everyday experience, is that it has went to a level, man, that we've never experienced before. And thus, this topic today.

[07:52] Dez: Yeah. It impacts every Iot or every space of our civilization. As far as driving coworkers, family, children, driving. It's just crazy. It's crazy. People drive depraved, bro. It's just amazing. And in our neck of the woods, Prince George's county, we're seeing record homicides and death. I mean, young people are losing it. They're more emotionally unstable than I think any other generation has probably seen. They cannot take criticism. They can't take rebuke. And if you do, they want to kill you. Right. Your life has no value to them. Right. You're just someone in their way from stopping them from doing what you want to do, and that's not kind. So, dad, what would you say initially? What's the difference between being kind and nice?

[08:48] Dave: I believe that being kind is intentional. Yeah. It comes from not being asked to do it. It's not fluff, and it's not something that you do out of duty. And I believe nice. Being nice is just kind of like getting along. To get along sometimes.

[09:11] Dez: Yeah.

[09:12] Dave: Not doing things that I think just being nice is just falling along with the culture, not to cause conflict in certain kinds of way.

[09:23] Dez: Yeah. We're not commanded to be nice anywhere in the Bible. The Bible never says be nice, but the Bible does say, be gentle towards one another, be kind towards one another. And I found this definition that says kindness is defined by doing something towards yourself and others motivated by genuine desire to make a positive difference.

[09:55] Dave: Amen.

[09:55] Dez: Say it again. Kindness is defined by doing something towards yourself and others motivated by a genuine desire to make a positive difference. So kindness is self sacrificing, right? Kindness is going out of your way to make someone else way better. Tony Evans says this quite often. He says, if you want to get out of a slump, learn how to serve someone in it. If you want to learn how to get out of a slump in your life, a depressing part of your life, a tough time in your life, yes, take care for your own soul work, but also serve someone else. That could be going through the same thing. Because it's something miraculous and supernatural about speaking life into what you're going through with someone else going through the same thing. That's a kind disposition. The Bible says it's God's kindness that turns away sinners from their wrath. From his wrath. It's his kindness that turns away sinners from their sin. And this kindness is, I see your lowly situation and I'm going to go out of my way to bring you out of your situation and I get nothing from it.

[11:05] Dave: Amen.

[11:06] Dez: Right.

[11:07] Dave: Amen.

[11:08] Dez: God is who God is regardless of how we respond. Right? But him going out of his way, proverbially going out of his way to see our pitiful, poor situation and acted upon it just out of sheer love and kindness. That's what we're talking about when it comes to kindness. Doing something to someone that can never repay anything.

[11:30] Dave: Perfect.

[11:30] Dez: That's the biblical view of kindness, right? It's a denying of yourself so that someone else can be brought up. It's not excusing what they've done, it's not even overlooking it. It's just making a decision to go into their life and pull them out that slump. And it doesn't have to be these big miraculous things all the time. And we're going to talk about that a little later, but we need to start off with a biblical definition or try to get a definition of what kindness is based on the Bible. But let's put that up on the shelf real quick and talk about, one of the questions I want to ask you was why should we be kind? What's the reason? Why should we even be kind? Why?

[12:20] Dave: First of all, because we live in a civilized society. You know what I mean? We're not barbaric, we're not barbarians, and Christ commands us to. Right?

[12:32] Dez: Yeah.

[12:33] Dave: Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Kindness is a byproduct of love. So therefore we should be kind to one another. Because first of all, us as saints, we're commanded to be kind to one another. Kindness is the fruit of the spirit. So in just the human aspect of it, being kind to your fellow man, your fellow woman, just brings about a peace in your society, it brings about peace in your community. Just being, because a byproduct of kindness is what? Courtesy, respect, all of those things help build a positive, safe environment. Because what's the opposite of kindness? Rudeness. We think cruelty, nasty meanness. When you look at the flip side of that, those are all the things that we were talking about when we first started talking of what we see every day. I think the main one is selfishness.

[13:45] Dez: Of course.

[13:50] Dave: It'S all about me. It's all about me. Everybody else is just in my way. So I just think, to answer your question, I just think it's just a way to bring about peace in our community, man.

[14:07] Dez: Yeah, and I think you summarize it the best way, Sam, because we're commanded to, God commands us as Christians to be kind because one of the reasons, because people are made in the image of God.

[14:22] Dave: Amen.

[14:25] Dez: How you treat people is a reflection of what you think of God.

[14:30] Dave: That's the second time I heard that today. That's the second time I heard that exact saying today. Yes.

[14:39] Dez: Yeah, man. I was thinking about, as we was preparing for this podcast, I kept thinking like, man, I'm reading this book actually called reform Systematic Theology, and the topic is dealing with man in Christ. And it's talking about anthropology, which is the study of man. It's talking about why it's something about man that God marvels in. Not in a sense of marvel like, oh my God, look at this creation, but the sense that we're the only thing that God has created or entity or being that God has created, that he's given his image to, right, intrinsic dignity, glory in a sense that man has, that gives him this dignity and gives him this worth, which is and should be valued and should be treated delicately and diligently and respectfully and with kindness. So you must be kind because of who has given you your existence. It's because of God. But the world does not know that because they do not know God. But as Christians, we ought to be compassionate and put on Christ. How do we do that? By the Holy Spirit and what does the spirit work in us? Well, one of the fruits of the spirit is kindness.

[15:54] Dave: Amen.

[15:55] Dez: So that should be a natural disposition, a supernatural disposition of the Christian's heart, to be kind to people, to go out your way, to make someone's life away better.

[16:06] Dave: Amen.

[16:06] Dez: And that's why we should be kind. And not only because of God, but also the effects it has on us. Right. I've done some studying on kindness, and I know you watched. If you want to jump in that, you can. But just listen to this. It says, we know from the research, and this is from mentalhealth.org. It says, we know from the research that kindness and our mental health are deeply connected. The research shows that kindness is an antidote to isolation and creates a sense of belonging. It helps reduce stress, brings a fresh perspective, and deepens friendship. Say it again. We know that research. I'm sorry. We know from the research that kindness and our mental health are deeply connected. The research shows that kindness is an antidote to isolation and creates a sense of belonging. It helps reduce stress, brings a fresh perspective, and deepens friendships. What do you think about that, dad?

[17:13] Dave: I think it's spot on. I think it's spot on because I know so many people, myself included, that naturally isolate.

[17:24] Dez: Yes.

[17:24] Dave: Right. Just naturally. That's just a natural part of who I am. But since I've been born again and I've grown in my faith and my discipleship, I understand that that is not good. Right. It's not good for your mental health. It's not good for your community. It's not good for your sisters and brothers in Christ. Right. And we all have something to contribute to the kingdom, and not just when it's time for us to serve or it's time for us to go to church. We all have something that we're assigned to do. So I think that what you just read is spot on because I think that I've gotten my biggest endorphin high. Is that what it's called? Endorphin means? What is it called?

[18:14] Dez: Endorphins? Yeah.

[18:15] Dave: Is when I am surrounded by people and I'm in a place of kind of like service.

[18:22] Dez: Yeah.

[18:23] Dave: You know what I mean? Or I'm doing something productive that's helping other people, just like you was reading when you were talking about what kindness is. And I think a lot of people will find their purpose and service, because if you think about it, Des, when we're serving, even if it's not genuine, that's when we put on our best face right?

[18:47] Dez: Yes, sir.

[18:48] Dave: We're courteous, we're respectful, we're helpful. You know what I mean? Even if it's not genuine, that's what we do. So imagine if it's from a place of servitude and a place of discipleship and a place of. From kingdom building, how much that will help your spirit, which, of course, helps your mental health. Isolation is terrible, man. And it's also selfish. So I would encourage people to really. Let me ask you a question. What does kindness look like for someone? Or how can someone who struggles with being straight, well, that struggles with being kind, what would you say is a process or an intentional way of becoming?

[19:47] Dez: I'm thinking about something Jesus says. He kind of said in a different aspect, but I hope I can bring it full circle. Jesus says, someone who's been forgiven little, forgives little, someone who's been forgiven a lot forgives a lot. Or someone who forgives much forgives much. Well, forgiven much forgives much. And I think that's the same thing with kindness. If people don't know how kind God has been to them, right, they don't know how much goodness God has showered on them, they tend to become self focused, and they become their own God. So they don't think they're wrong. You know what I'm saying? They need to be shown how much kindness others, God first and others have shown to them, how people have bore up with them in their hard times. They need to be confronted about the reality of the necessity of being kind, how much kindness God has shown to them. And hopefully, if they are a Christian, that stirs up their hearts and challenges them to really look at their heart and see and do some soul searching. So I would say that's one of the things I would look at the heart, right? Because if you say that you're a christian and your heart is full of malice and rudeness and irritation, you're just always irritated, and you just got this stank face on your face all the time. Anytime. You just don't want to be bothered, then I would just question, like, we are family, though. As Christians, we have family. If you're part of a church, how are you living that out? All those one another commandments, being compassionate, loving one another, serving one another. How do you do that if you're not being kind and it's not coming out of a kind heart? So that's what I would say. They need to see how much God has been kind to them, and hopefully that working in their heart will pour out into other people. I don't know if that answers you.

[21:45] Dave: The question, but, man, you crushed it. Come on.

[21:47] Dez: Okay.

[21:48] Dave: You crushed it.

[21:50] Dez: Yeah.

[21:50] Dave: Because that was something that was just right out the blue, you crushed it. And I agree with, the only way to do it is through the Holy Spirit, man, and being intentional about it. But the first step is to become aware of it. Right?

[22:07] Dez: Yeah.

[22:07] Dave: And hopefully prayerfully, you have someone around you that can talk to you in that manner to help you recognize that part of your heart that is just not being a good disciple of Christ.

[22:23] Dez: Which is being kind. You know what I'm saying? That's being kind. Right. That's being kind as a brother coming to you gently trying to restore you from that sin, that's a kind thing to do. God's kindness confronts. Right? He confronts us on our sin. But like a good doctor, he doesn't just tell us the disease, he gives us the medicine. I think that's the same thing we supposed to do as Christians. It's a kind thing for me to confront you if my heart is to get you not just to tell you about yourself because it makes me feel better, but if my heart is to restore you to right fellowship with God and man, that's a kind thing to do, even if it doesn't look like kindness. Because we mix kindness with niceness. People who are nice don't confront things. They're people pleasers. Right. And I'm not trying to make niceness being nice bad. Right. It's just in nature, compromising.

[23:20] Dave: Right?

[23:21] Dez: In nature is compromising. Kindness in nature is not compromising. It's dealing with stuff. But the disposition is to genuinely help others. So I think that's the difference.

[23:35] Dave: And that's a good point, man, the way that you worded that. Because we always talk about doing what's right for the relationship. Right. And. And by you confronting that person or being transparent with that person about how they're affecting that relationship with their actions, because obviously it's going to affect your relationship. Right. If you keep seeing this person act out in that way, the best thing to do for that relationship is to kindly and gently talk to that person about that action that they're doing on a daily basis.

[24:13] Dez: Probably, yeah. Listen to this, dad. That's real. This is by psychology today. This was a good quote. It says, kindness is about showing up in the world with compassion and acting for the greater good of all, while being nice is about being polite, pleasant, and agreeable and doing what we think we should. Kindness goes a step beyond kind. Humans know that life is hard, messy, and complex, yet they understand that people are doing their best with the tools, resources, and experiences they carry. Charles Glasman captured this by saying, quote, kindness begins with the understanding that we all struggle. End quote. Many people view kindness as weakness, but it's quite the opposite. It is a sign of strength. It is moving from me to we.

[25:07] Dave: Amen.

[25:08] Dez: Seeing the bigger picture and loaning someone your strength and support, supporting someone by doing whatever you can, wherever you are, with whatever you have, is a sign of who you are, a kind human. Kindness is doing the things that may go without acknowledgment and thanks. Authentic and intentional. Kindness doesn't expect anything in return. We can practice kindness for kindness sake, not for the personal gain or the approval of others. I usually don't agree with nothing psychology today says, but that's good.

[25:45] Dave: Praise God.

[25:46] Dez: When we say a broken clock, write twice a day.

[25:49] Dave: Twice a day. Even a broken clock is correct. Amen.

[25:52] Dez: But I felt like that quote summarized everything we just said.

[25:56] Dave: Yes, I agree.

[25:57] Dez: Everything we just said. Right. Jesus says that if you want to follow him, you must deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow him. So as a Christian, that definition lines up with what we believe it means. It's not about me. It's about we.

[26:20] Dave: Amen.

[26:21] Dez: It's about we. And it's about going outside of your comfort zone. Come on, Jesus. Going outside of your comfort zone, your leisure, your convenience, and doing something for someone else. That's what Jesus did. He left glory for us.

[26:40] Dave: Amen.

[26:41] Dez: He came down to this lowly world of wickedness and evilness, and he took on humanity and all the sorrows and weaknesses of humanity. Not the simple nature, but the weaknesses that come from humanity. Being sick, being hurt, being tempted. You know what I mean? All those things Jesus did, but without sin, that's a kind thing to do. And then he turns around and says, if you want to follow me, you must live the same exact way. And it's going to be hard, and it's going to be messy, and it's going to be complex. But guess what? In the end, it'll be worth it, because you learn how to love God and love your neighbor as yourself. And what are the two greatest commandments? Love the Lord God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself.

[27:22] Dave: Amen.

[27:23] Dez: It all ties in.

[27:24] Dave: Amen.

[27:26] Dez: And it's so necessary because our world, we don't see it that at. No, it's all about individualism and relativism and modernism, and it's about getting yours. It's about who you are. It's about who you know. It's about what you can get from people. People are just a ****. People are just puzzles, you know what I mean? That need to be figured out. People are to be manipulated. People are to be used for selfish gain. And look at the biggest, biggest markets and industry. It's all about that. How can I manipulate someone's behavior to get what I want? That's not being kind, right? That's being selfish. That's being sinful. And you're acting like, as Jesus would say, you're acting like your father Satan.

[28:13] Dave: You're acting like your father Satan. Amen.

[28:15] Dez: You know what I mean? Yeah. So, dad, why are people like this? Why is it so hard to be kind?

[28:25] Dave: First of all, it all comes from sin, right? It's just our sinful nature, first and foremost. But I think a lot of it, Des, is what we feed ourselves. Sure. What we feed ourselves through our ears and what we feed ourselves through our eyes. What we constantly bombard ourselves with. If we constantly bombard ourselves with negativity, violence, selfish programming, all of those things that, like you said, that promote selfishness, what's in you is going to come out no matter what, right? So if we're not intentional about feeding ourselves good things, pure things, positive things, and surrounding ourselves with like minded people, that's what's going to come out of us, man. We all know people who the only thing they look at or watch on TV or whatever or listen to is murder, death, kill, man. If that's what you're feeding your soul, if all you want to look at is conflict and drama and listen to. That's all you want to listen to, is conflict and drama. That is what is going to come out of you. It's going to come out of you regularly, and especially it's going to come out of you in situations where conflict is present. So as we've been told, know Alonzo, Pastor Alonzo, my brother, your uncle, is that. Now you know the situation. Now you know what the sin is. Now you know what the problem is. How do we intentionally grow from that into a good disciple of Christ? And first of all, man is recognizing what it is. And then we have to pray. We have to pray daily that God will fix our hearts. Because it's a heart matter, right? Yeah, it's a heart matter. You just have to pray daily, man, throughout the day that God will help fill you with the spirit, fill you with his spirit so that your continents, your attitude you have a spirit, a spirit of kindness. What do you think?

[30:36] Dez: Amen. I mean, if you have God's spirit, one of whose spirit is kindness, right? So if that's something that's a struggle, I do think, like you say, you should pray for it. But also, you know what I mean? Don't deceive yourselves. Make sure you're really in the faith. You know what I mean? All those things should be. And I don't want to belabor this, but some people are just hard to be kind to. Some people are just jerks, bro. It's just like, oh, my goodness. And that's what you really need to pray, because Jesus says the quality of your love is not shown in people who love you back. It's actually shown in those who hate you. He said, if you only love people who love you back, good for you. Gentiles do that. What good is that? That you love people who love you? He said, no, real love. If you want to be like your father, you need to love, though. Your father in heaven. You need to love those who hate you, bless those who are your enemies. So real love is predicated on, yes, you should love those that you love. There's nothing wrong with that. But godly love, the love that God wants us to get to and reach is loving your neighbors, loving your enemies. And it's hard, but God's using it to sanctify you, you know what I mean? To make you more like Christ, who was kind to those who opposed him even to the point of death. Even on a cross, he had somebody mocking him. You know what I mean? So that's why Christ's likeness is so important to your point that you said something that's really interesting. You said some things that we see, and there's some things that we put our eyes on as people, that all they see is violence and anger. And that stuff affects you. Right? Listen to proverbs 22 24. It says, do not make friends with a hot tempered person. Do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.

[32:40] Dave: Amen. Amen.

[32:42] Dez: So that's to your point. It's so true, dad. As people say, show me your friends, I'll show you your future. You show me your friends, I'll show you your future. And that's why. I mean, just in church today, we pray for our young people that they will have godly good friends. That leads them not into temptation, but leads them into the presence of the like that's so necessary. And you wonder why, man? Why am I so angry, bro? Check who you've been around. Check what you've been watching. Jesus says, your eye is a light to your whole body. If the light is good, the body is good. But if your eye is bad and your eyes in darkness, but you think you're in light, how dark is that? Darkness. So guard your eyes. The Bible says, guard your heart. From it, your life flows. And that's so serious. It's such a serious endeavor as Christians that we got to constantly be guarding what we watching and who we giving our time to and who we're giving our attention to and who we're allowing into our lives and allowing to influence us and to get our ears, because it's important. No one should have your ear more than what Christ says. No one should have your eyes more than the Bible because it's a mirror. It shows you who you really are, and it also shows you who people really are. So you're never too high. Never too low.

[33:57] Dave: Amen.

[33:58] Dez: Now, it kind of goes all the way back to what you were saying. Why is it hard to be kind? Sometimes? It's just the company you keep. Don't be deceived. Bad company destroys good morals to who you're around. That could be stopping you. But it's also, like something intrinsic in man that just makes them a wild person. Right. So I have a couple of scriptures that I want to share. So I have Genesis six. This is what God says about humanity after sin. A little bit after sin. It says, when human beings. This verse five, it says, the Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all of the time.

[34:43] Dave: Only evil all of the time. Wow.

[34:46] Dez: One passage says, from youth onward, only thing they think is evil. So are kids inherently good? No. What they say, a young fool end up being an old fool, and an old fool ain't nothing but old fool was nothing but a young fool.

[35:02] Dave: Amen.

[35:05] Dez: It's just true. Why is it hard to be kind? Because every inclination of your thought and your mind and your soul is to be evil. And the Bible states it plainly. Plainly? Yes. It could be impacted by your environment. Yes, it can be impacted by your upbringing. But Jesus says the source of that stuff is not without. It's not the environment around you. It's the whole. It's the hellhole within you.

[35:30] Dave: Amen.

[35:31] Dez: So you see it? I see it with my daughter. Now, the girls will be doing something. She wants something. They don't give it to her. You see it all in her face, trying to take it from her turn, took it from. She's two years old. I taught her that our environment in our house is not hostile by God's grace. So where's that coming from? That passage. Every inclination of my dear daughter, who I love dearly, is towards evil. Until she gets the Holy Spirit. Until she receives the Holy Spirit and becomes a Christian.

[36:00] Dave: Right. Amen.

[36:02] Dez: Romans three. Starting in verse ten. Sorry. Starting in verse ten. Yes. As it is written, there is no one righteous, not even one. There's no one who understands. There's no one who seeks God. All have turned away. They have become together worthless. There is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves. Their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Ruin and misery mark their ways and the way of peace. They do not know there is no fear of God before their eyes.

[36:45] Dave: Amen.

[36:47] Dez: That's humanity. That's why it's hard to be kind again. What you think of God is the reflection of how you treat a people. How you treat people. If you think low of God, guess how you're going to treat people very lowly. If you have a high but a high view of God, how are you going to treat people highly with respect, even when they're not being respectful? Because you're not looking at them necessarily. You're looking at the image, the image who made them. That's what's making you respect them. And for as bad as the rap Christians get, and people want to bash Christians, just another stupid singer went on breakfast club and bashed the church again because he's retarded. But he gets all the praise. And man, he's just a weak man. You go on breakfast club with unbelievers, you bash the only thing that can give them hope, which is the church, and you go bash it just so you can be like, he's a weak man.

[37:43] Dave: Exactly.

[37:44] Dez: And he calls himself a pastor. He's weak. It's not kind what he did.

[37:49] Dave: I agree.

[37:49] Dez: It's not a kind thing.

[37:51] Dave: He painted with a broad brush, brother, didn't he?

[37:54] Dez: Why you have to put. It's kind of like I say this with Michael Jordan and LeBron debate. I said, why do I have to put LeBron down to prove that Michael to say I like Michael Jordan or vice versa? Why do I have to put Michael Jordan down to prove that I like LeBron, why do you have to do that?

[38:08] Dave: Right?

[38:09] Dez: Why do you have to put the church down to prove your point to unbelievers? Use wisdom, sir.

[38:16] Dave: Amen.

[38:17] Dez: Use wisdom just before we came on that we pray for wisdom because God generously gives it. How you want to say that? Because there's no fear of God before his eyes.

[38:25] Dave: Amen.

[38:27] Dez: So that's another reason. Matthew 15. Jesus calls out to the crowd, and he says to them, this is verse ten. Listen to understand, what goes into someone's mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them. Then the disciples came to him and asked, do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this? He replied, every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them. They are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit. Peter said, explain the parable to us. Are you still so dogged, Peter? Get it bad. Every time? Jesus asked him, don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of a person's mouth comes from the heart, and these defoul them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts. Murder, daughtery, sexual morality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person, but even with unwashed hands, does not defile them. Go ahead, dad, preach that thing. Why is kindness so hard? So we just went through all those texts, why is kindness so hard, dad? What are those texts? Summarizes.

[39:45] Dave: I think it summarizes everything that you had read in that passage from the book earlier about the psychology, baby man. And then what I stated earlier. It's what you feed yourself, man. If you're constantly feeding yourself trash, I'm not calling you trash, but that's what's going to come out. And it's unbelievable. And I really hope that people understand that Christians aren't anti entertainment. Right? We have just as much fun. Our goal is to live a life of fun and enjoy what God has blessed us with. But we have to be intentional about what we let into our souls, right? We have to be intentional about what we look at, what we watch, what we hear, and the places we go and the people we surround ourselves with. Because if you're spending a lot of time around anybody and you're not being impactful, you need to check yourself. If the people you're around aren't growing or still doing the things that they normally did or they did, and I'm talking about the sinful things. Are you being impactful? Are you even trying? If you are and nothing is changing, you need to move on, right? You need to move on. So, just to get back to what your initial question was, we have to guard ourselves, man. We have to guard ourselves from all of this foolishness, man, so that we could be impactful for the kingdom. And I think one of the most important things that you said is about loving our enemies and showing our enemies kindness. What does that look like? That looks like not meeting the aggression, right? Not meeting the unkindness. It's about being christlike all the time without compromising. Not showing weakness, but showing love through meekness. Right? Doing what's right at the time, and understanding that we can affect people in a lot of ways by not being confrontational. Then we can affect more people by not being confrontational than we can by being confrontational. Choose love, choose peace, choose kindness.

[42:21] Dez: Amen. Amen. As we wrap up, I just want to tell a quick story, but before that, I'm just thinking about as a teacher, I'm dealing with kids, and I see this passage leap off the page because a lot of times you see a kid change based off of who they're friends with. Because at that age, I teach middle school, so at that age, all they care about is being light. And usually the loudest person, the most arrogant person, the most wicked person, usually is the most popular person in schools. It's just retarded. But it's true. That's just how it is. So a lot of times I'm struggling with my kids. They just tell you they're just mean. They're just unkind. There's no other way to put it.

[43:04] Dave: They just.

[43:04] Dez: Unkind. Shut up. Everything they say, especially certain kids, it's just everything they say is negative all the time. So I'm practicing with them something that I learned. Like, every time they tell someone shut up, I have them come to the front of class and I say two positive or kind things to everybody in this room.

[43:22] Dave: Oh, wow.

[43:23] Dez: That's what I have to tell them. Now, I'm going to give you something concrete to do so that every time you about to say shut up, you think about, oh, if I say that, this is what I'm going to have to do, but I'm trying to get you to stop and think. Stop and think. I teach this. This is the first thing I teach to my students. Because most people, everyone has a problem with their mouth. Watch your mouth. Control the tongue. It's power and death. So this is the first thing I teach them, the think method. This is the think method. It's an acronym. T. Is it true before you speak, is what you're about to say true? H. Is it helpful? So what you're about to say helpful, I is it inspiring? Are you going to build someone up with your words or are you going to tear them down? If you are, don't say it. N, is it necessary, is what you're about to say necessary for people to know, or are you just talking to yourself? Talk. K, is it kind? Is what you're about to say kind? That's the think method. Think before you speak. You might can use that at your job because people just be flying off with their mouth, man. They don't even think about what they about to say. And this goes back to what we talked about earlier this week, dad, when I said, how about you make this a rule? How about we make this a rule in principle for our lives? I will not say anything out of my mouth about anyone that I will not say to their face. Are you muted, dad, I can't hear you. Yeah, you're on mute. But I will not say anything to anyone about them that I will not say in their face. That will stop you from saying a lot of stuff.

[45:07] Dave: Yeah, man, that's an excellent principle. That is an excellent principle to instill into your life, man. Because first of all, we shouldn't be gossipers, right? No, we shouldn't be gossiping. In order for you to gossip, you have to be talking behind someone's back. Yeah, so I agree, man.

[45:27] Dez: That's not kind to do that principle. Not kind of talk behind someone's back. That's not a kind thing to do. And that will stop you. That will stop you a lot of times from doing what you're supposed to do. We're going to wrap up there, man. I appreciate those who listen again at Life cop podcast. We like to filter our thoughts through God's thoughts. We like to filter our ways through God's ways. And we like to filter our perspectives through God's perspective. Dad, say bye to the people.

[45:58] Dave: Goodbye, people. And everybody, please be kind to one another.

[46:02] Dez: Amen. Y'all have a great day. This is des Oots. I was joined by the creepy crawler himself, the smoothiest man who levitates and feet never touches the ground. David. Y'all take it easy. Be blessed.