I heard some good dating advice recently. The pastor spoke of how Abraham sent out his servant to find a wife for his son Isaac. The servant’s test for who God picked for Isaac was the one who not only offered to give him water, but also to give water to his camels. In other words, the attribute he was looking for was kindness.

Is kindness on your list of top ten attributes you look for in a mate? Honestly, until very recently, I can’t say that it was on mine. Kindness is a virtue that gets overlooked these days, or gets mislabled as being passive or being a pushover. All those articles on ten easy steps to finding Mr. or Mrs. Right probably will leave kindness off their lists.

But remember this. Kindness is important. After all, it was the kindness of the Lord which led you to repentence. It was His kindness that led you to your salvation. Kindness can break through hard hearts where brute strength and force never could.

I bet if you were to ask a man or woman who has been married for more than 10 years, a couple who has weathered all the seasons and storms of life, how they value kindness, they would probably rate it high on their list. After physical beauty fades, kindness remains. When the money is gone, kindness will still be around. After the confident swagger is shaken, kindness is what’s left.

Kindness is love given to the least of these, to those who can’t pay it back, to those who need it most but don’t know how to express that need. Kindness is given without any expectation or return or reward, but is its own reward. As the song says, “In the end, only kindness matters.” I believe that’s true.

Do you? Then choose kindness.