Is Jesus Kind?

I have no problem admitting that Jesus death on the cross was the ultimate sign of love. There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for a friend, to paraphrase St. Paul. But, is being loving the same thing as being kind? I think this is one of the greatest sources of confusion in two areas.

The first is our understanding of God. God doesn't need to be nice to us. The fact that heaven is open to us is kindness enough.

The second is our understanding of religion. We need to show love to one another. We need to reach out to those who are suffering to bring some kind of goodness out of that evil. And I do think kindness is a virtue. But, is a lack of kindness really a sin? It's possible that, since so much of culture publicizes and repeats every negative thing about the church and puts us in the worst light possible, that we need to be beyond reproach. I think some would say that's a valid statement. But, I think we need to stand up for principles. I do think that we need to speak out for life. I think we need to stand up for the sanctity of marriage. I think we need to say that not all catholic priests are pedophiles and that we're tired of that depiction. We need to say that a country that is as rich as the United States needs to reach out to the poor. We need to ask if the war in Iraq had anything to do with the war on terror and ask if the policy on "pre-emptive war" hurts or helps the understanding of just war theory. We can't be afraid to speak out on things ask long as we are doing so in love. But, I think it weakens us to try and form every sentence so that they won't offend anyone.