[Editor’s note: This is part five of the “Fruits in Season” series, exploring the impact of the biblical “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16–24) on Christians during election season. Find the full series here.]

There was a time when kindness was summed up in the act of rewinding a VHS tape.

The slogan “Be Kind, Please Rewind” once labeled every rented videocassette case. What does a kind person do? He rewinds his videotape so store personnel don’t have to. There was more to it than that, of course, but it in part encapsulates the truncated view of kindness that’s been prevalent in our culture for years. In the 1980s and 90s, kindness was squarely in the category of consumerist goodwill. Things haven’t changed all that much since, with movements like “random acts of kindness” and an entire line of candy bars adopting the namesake of kindness.

In his 1948 novel “The Heart of the Matter,” Graham Greene’s protagonist Henry Scobie, after hearing a hard truth from his increasingly estranged wife, ponders the relationship between truth and kindness:

“The truth, he thought, has never been of any real value to any human being it is a symbol for mathematicians and philosophers to pursue. In human relations kindness and lies are worth a thousand truths.”

Scobie was wrong, of course, on the value of truth, but I think he was on to something in that the power of kindness, even amid difficult truths, can render great effect upon human relationships. A person who otherwise wouldn’t listen to truths that are too hard to apprehend might be willing to listen to you if you lead with kindness. Proverbs 11:17 reminds us, “A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself.” Kindness opens seemingly locked doors. True kindness that is neither random nor a mere brand is a powerful thing that’s rooted in God’s characteristic nature.

In his contrast of the fruit of the Spirit with the works of the flesh in Galatians 5:16-24, the Apostle Paul lists kindness as the fifth fruit produced by the Holy Spirit’s work in a believer. But even for a Christian, kindness can be a difficult act during a bitter election season where kindness seldom raises its head. For example, in the first presidential debate — the one with President Biden and former President Trump — the candidates didn’t even shake hands. And all it takes is a cursory glance at social media on any given day at election coverage to see that kindness is wanting.

Too often those who speak truth lack the kindness that helps it be heard. Truth accompanied with kindness doesn’t diminish truth. Truth accompanied with kindness enhances truth and brings out its flavor because kindness flows directly from truth.

The biblical view of kindness is rooted in the concept of hesed, the Old Testament Hebrew term that ends up being translated in many different ways. Sometimes you’ll see it rendered, “lovingkindness,” “unfailing love,” “steadfast love,” or simply “kindness” or a variation thereof. In total, the word occurs around 250 times in the Old Testament. It’s an important characteristic used most often of God himself, but it also shows up in human relationships as well. In the book of Ruth, for example, it’s used of both Ruth and Boaz in example after example of kindness. In his excellent book about hesed, “Inexpressible: Hesed and the Mystery of God’s Lovingkindness,” Michael Card uses this simple definition:

“When the person from whom I have the right to expect nothing gives me everything.”

When someone shows us kindness, it puts us in our place in that we are undeserving. And when God shows us kindness, it magnifies God’s place because he chooses to open his kindness to us anyway.

Kindness is not to be mistaken for niceness. Niceness, or politeness, is merely conducting oneself in an acceptable way in civil society. There’s no sacrifice except making oneself behave. Kindness, on the other hand, involves action. There is giving involved, a transaction that may not be reciprocated.

In strained seasons like the one we’re now in, kindness is crucial in maintaining likewise strained relationships. Magnanimity, a derivative of kindness, will go far for both winners and losers in an election. The kindness produced as a fruit of the Spirit is much more than a random act. It’s an intentional product of love, joy, peace, and patience that fuels even more fruit in the person who is kind. Kindness takes you places.

Election season is a wasteland, devoid of good soil for growing such beautiful things as kindness. We can try to be kind, but if we’re simply trying, the season will get the best of us. However, as the 2024 election’s furor grows, those who walk by the Spirit can walk with a kindness that’s not a result of trying, but with a kindness that grows as a fruit in lives rooted in fertile ground. That’s a tape we can keep on rewinding to play again and again.