Ephesians 4:30-5:2
Brothers and sisters:
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,
with which you were sealed for the day of redemption.
All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling
must be removed from you, along with all malice.
And be kind to one another, compassionate,
forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.
So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love,
as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us
as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.
This Sunday’s reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians exhorts us to “be imitators of God”.
Just as Jesus love us so much He sacrificed Himself so that we may be redeemed and have access to a life after death in Heaven, we are exhorted to also “live in love” by removing all “malice…bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling” from ourselves, and instead “be kind to one another”.
What does kindness mean?
Being kind is defined as “harboring a spirit of helpfulness, as well as being generous and considerate, and doing so without expecting anything in return. Kindness is a quality of being.”
Note that the above definition doesn’t specify the recipient of our kindness must be human. Being kind isn’t species-specific.
Being kind isn’t just for the benefit of others, human and nonhuman (animals). It turns out that being kind is good for us!
Science has found evidence that being kind is:
(1) Good for our body:
- Kind people tend to be healthier and live longer.
- Being kind can decrease blood pressure and cortisol, a stress hormone. When we are under stress, our bodies release cortisol, which increases blood sugars. While small increases in cortisol have positive effects on our response to stress by giving us a quick burst of energy, heightened memory and a lowered sensitivity to pain, increased cortisol levels caused by chronic stress can decrease immune functioning, increase weight gain and difficulty losing weight, and increase blood pressure, cholesterol and risks of heart disease. Sustained cortisol increases can actually harm the brain and impair thinking, memory and learning, which is why people under chronic stress can “go blank” and be forgetful. (Michigan State University)
(2) Good for our mental wellbeing:
- Kindness can increase our sense of connectivity with others, which elevates our mood and alleviates loneliness — a widespread epidemic in our time, exacerbated by government-imposed COVID-19 lockdowns and “social distancing”.
- Kindness increases self-esteem, empathy and compassion.
- Physiologically, kindness can positively change our brains by boosting dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins:
- Dopamine, a “feel-good” chemical, is a chemical messenger in the brain that can give us a feeling of euphoria, and is credited with causing what’s known as a “helper’s high.”
- Oxytocin, sometimes called “the love hormone,” is the hormone mothers produce when they breastfeed, cementing their bond with their babies. Oxytocin is also released when we’re physically intimate. Oxytocin plays a role in forming social bonds, making us more trusting, more generous, and friendlier, while also lowering our blood pressure.
- Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate mood.
- An endorphin-like chemical in our body called substance P can relieve pain.
But for the above beneficial effects to last, kindness can’t be a single act. Being kind is most beneficial as a practice—something we work into our daily routine whether in the form of ongoing volunteer work, donating to worthy causes, random acts of kindness like feeding an expired parking meter for a stranger, bringing a snack to share with friends and colleagues, or feeding the homeless, human or animal.
Sources: Mayo Clinic; Cedars Sinai
May the peace, kindness and love of Jesus Christ, our Lord, be with you!
~E