As you may have seen today on social media, it’s “World Kindness Day.” While this holiday was started in 1998, I’m pretty sure this is the first I’ve heard of it, but I love it! Many are celebrating by wearing a cardigan in honor of Mr. Rogers, who was the champion of kindness. Mr. Rogers was actually also Rev. Rogers, as he served as an ordained Presbyterian minister, so it shouldn’t be surprising that his message of kindness for others is a central message of Scripture.

In Matthew 22, when asked what the most important commandment was, Jesus told those who asked that it was to love God and love other people. While love can definitely look different in different situations, I think much of the time it looks like kindness. The Oxford dictionary defines kindness as being “friendly, generous, and considerate.” While the Bible may not say much about friendliness, generosity and consideration are certainly in there.

I think of Philippians 2, which describes the way that Christ considered others to be more important than Himself, to the point where He laid down His life. I also think of the many examples throughout the Gospels where He took the time to talk to those who were considered “lesser”—the prostitute, the tax collector, the adulterer, the foreigner, and the list goes on and on.

I can’t help but believe that just like Paul exhorted the believers in 1 Corinthians 11 to follow his example as he followed Christ, many today are following the example of Mr. Rogers as he attempted to live his life in a way that followed the kindness of Christ. Romans 2:4 reminds us that it is the kindness of God that draws us to repentance, which is also echoed in the book of Revelation. We need to remember that that generosity, consideration, and love will do much more than judgement and hate ever could.

Mr. Rogers reminded an audience of this in a 2004 PBS documentary, where he said, “You know, I think everybody longs to be loved, and longs to know that he or she is lovable. And consequently, the greatest thing we can do is to help somebody know they’re loved and capable of loving.” Sounds pretty Scriptural to me. So today, whether you choose to don a cardigan of Mr. Rogers or the sandals of Christ, know that they had the same goal in mind—love.