Offering Kindness in a Heart l Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
Benevolence is usually equated with the idea of being gracious or grace itself, yet sometimes, Churches misrepresent the true Gospel of grace – it must come with repentance and good works. Because of this, it is not enough to say that becoming a benevolent being simply entails becoming good and kind to others but it also means actual, concrete, and feasible actions such as being considerate and accommodating of the feelings of others. Overall, it means meaning and being well in the pursuit of helping others.
Benefits of Learning Benevolence
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In many professions, benevolence has always been essential to every practice. This is because benevolence is the root of beneficence. In fields like medicine, beneficence is a core principle taught in medical ethics, which is an obligation to do good and act in the best interest of patients instead of just avoiding harm altogether.
Benevolence balances the art of doing good for others while weighing the consequences of possible actions or treatments in the long run. Benevolence is a virtue that is highly sought after in a vast number of fields, even beyond medicine, because it gives people the ability to take action in pursuit of the greater good.
Ways to Becoming a Benevolent Being
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Since there are many benefits of learning benevolence, how do we become benevolent? This is difficult because benevolence is not exactly something that can be taught, yet it becomes something inherent in people as they practice good works and do good deeds. It is our innate ability and urge to do good despite needing to step out of our comfort zone. Becoming a benevolent being does not come as a step-by-step, easily attainable process. It takes time for people to learn and understand its value, thereby inculcating this in their lives.
Be Aware of Our Actions
We dictate our own choices, but first, we must be self-aware and cognizant in our dealings with others. As we get older, our actions and thought processes become second nature, and we no longer stop to think and assess whether what we think will promote humanity’s goodness or spread kindness to those around us. However, to make a change, we must know our baseline.
How do we usually think? Do we prejudicly judge others? Are we the type of people to think before we speak? Do we think of the consequences of our actions before we act? We should reflect on these things first because becoming aware of these flaws of not thinking before judging, saying, or doing can drastically change how we view life and our perspective on other people. Awareness and understanding of our thoughts and why we do things is the first step to becoming a benevolent being and becomes the stepping stone as we strive to act more benevolently towards others.
Cultivate a Heart of Gratitude
It is always easy to see the things we don’t have. We often feel we are missing out on things before realizing that we have much to be thankful for. Being grateful and appreciative of what we have can help us in becoming a benevolent being because we can gain a positive mindset and develop confidence and contentedness in the things that we already have.
This will go a long way in the grand scheme of things because it helps us realize what we already have and how we can use it to help those around us. Knowing what we have and our strengths will help us understand how to optimally help others and concretely extend kindness and good works to those around us instead of just the fake niceties and politeness we are used to.
Make Small Steps
The first step is always the hardest. As we face the difficulties and uncertainties of life, it is often difficult to make an effort toward benevolence, as we seem preoccupied with our day-to-day lives. However, we frequently consider benevolence a vast thing we must encompass. Break it down, and start small. This will make it easier for you to do and more likely that you will take the initiative to do it.
Small steps like greeting others in the morning, striking up a conversation to see how your colleagues are doing, and listening to the concerns or problems of others are just some of the simple ways to begin our path to benevolence. As we start to walk toward spiritual freedom through our benevolence, read Ashley D. Wille’s My Journey Through the Cross.
