What if the simplest way to heal the world—and yourself—was through kindness?

In today’s episode, we’re diving into the healing power of kindness, one of the most overlooked but transformative attributes of love.

🦋 We’ll explore what Scripture says about kindness and how science backs it up with staggering evidence of physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits.

🦋 Discover why love in action—especially in hard seasons—is more than a nice idea. It’s a healing force.

🦋 Learn how to break generational cycles of cruelty and respond to pain with Christlike compassion.

Whether you’re the one offering kindness or the one in desperate need of it, this episode will show you that God wired kindness as a built-in reward system for healing. It’s not about surface-level niceness. It’s about reflecting Jesus… even when you're running on empty.

✝️ “Love is patient, love is kind…” (1 Corinthians 13:4)

Kindness and patience go hand in hand. If you missed last week’s episode on patience, we recommend going back to listen!

If today’s message spoke to you, please share it with a friend and follow Born to be a Butterfly so you never miss an episode. 

📖 Ready to dive deeper into healing and transformation? Get my book, From Broken to Butterfly, on Amazon today! 

📩 If you have any questions or want to connect, send me a DM on Instagram at Born To Be A Butterfly or email me at ninapajonas@gmail.com. I love hearing from you! 

Remember, the Lord can turn your wounds into wings—you were Born to be a Butterfly! 🦋

Born to be a Butterfly © 2025 Nina Pajonas All rights reserved. The content of this podcast is for informational and inspirational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. For the full disclaimer, visit ⁠ninapajonas.com.

Hello, my sister in Christ.

I hope you're having a beautiful and blessed day.

If you recall, last week we started a series called how to Love like the Lord.

And last week we discussed patience because it's the very first attribute that Paul the apostle speaks of in the famous Corinthians verse regarding love.

So today we're going to discuss the second attribute that's listed for love,

and that is being kind.

We're going to discuss the healing power of kindness.

But here's the twist.

We're not just going to look at scripture today with regards to kindness.

We're also going to look at the science behind that action,

how it impacts not just the people around us,

but our own bodies,

our own minds and spirits.

Because kindness isn't just a feel good word.

It's a healing force.

It's love in action.

It's a reflection of how God loves,

how he heals us,

helps us,

and quickly grows us all through love.

We must never underestimate the power of love.

Back in the day.

And when I say back in the day, I mean back in the day.

I'm 51 years old, so I'm going back a ways.

All kidding aside, there were two songs and both of them were called the Power of Love.

You might be thinking, okay, Nina, what are you getting at? What's the point? There's two songs. Okay, what about it?

The reason I'm discussing it is if there was ever a theme by which to live your life,

love is the theme.

The power of love should be your theme. It should be my theme.

Our God is a God of love.

And if we're going to bear his image beautifully,

then we need to display attributes of love.

Love is not just a word.

Love is an action.

When you love somebody, when you truly love somebody, whether it's a friend, whether it's a romantic relationship, whatever it is,

you do whatever you can in your power to make that person happy, don't you?

So there's attributes that we need to display in order for somebody to feel loved by us.

If our God is love and we are made in his image,

then we are supposed to be children of love.

Welcome to Born to be a Butterfly, where we embrace healing and growth in Christ so that we can experience true transformation.

My name is Nina Pajones, and I pray that today's message ministers to you.

Okay,

so let's dive into this.

I did some research on this subject and I found out that love heals and that includes kindness.

We can heal ourselves and others through loving action.

Love isn't just a feeling or a word on a Hallmark card.

If we're not acting in love,

it's just lip service.

It's just words on a piece of paper or a flippant comment you make as you run out the door for work.

If you're only saying it but you're not displaying hasn't reached your heart.

Because when love lives in your heart,

it moves you to make a difference in someone else's life.

You want to do positive things to bring joy to their day.

You will be intentionally thoughtful and considerate of their feelings.

You're going to display compassion and kindness on a regular basis. That's what you do when you love someone.

It's incredible that God designed us in such a way as to reward us physically,

emotionally,

mentally and spiritually when we behave in ways that align with his will.

And science proves it.

I found out that when we perform an act of kindness that our brain releases serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin, the feel good chemicals that promote healing,

bonding and peace.

Listen to this, ladies.

Our cortisol levels decrease,

our blood pressure drops and our mood improves.

Our bodies respond to kindness as if it were medicine.

How amazing is that?

Being kind improves your immune system.

It reduces pain. It decreases anxiety and depression.

We get all of those benefits from doing something that reflects the heart of God.

I believe that God wired us to be rewarded for kindness because he knew we would need encouragement to keep doing it.

Especially when life is hard.

Because, let's be honest,

sometimes being kind doesn't come easy.

It's a fruit of the spirit.

But there are days when you're suffering,

right? When you're overwhelmed, when you're hurting deeply.

Those are the days where choosing kindness is difficult.

Perhaps an important relationship you had came to an end.

Maybe you lost your job, maybe your finances are stretched and maybe you feel like your heart is too.

On those days,

kindness is a choice.

I've been there.

I've had a hard day. And I've gone to the store and I'm walking down the aisle and the last thing I want to do is talk to somebody, right?

Like, the last thing I want to do is even see somebody. I don't want to make eye contact.

I don't want to do anything. I just want to be left alone.

And then I'll see a woman who's standing by her shopping cart and she has a pretty top on, or her hair looks really nice.

And I'm thinking it,

I'm thinking it. I'm like, oh, wow, that's a really nice blouse.

Wow. I wonder where she gets her hair done.

Right? We see these things, we think these things.

So I force myself to say it.

I will push past my bad mood and say something because I'm a complimenter by nature.

It's just the ABCs of me. I don't even try to do it. It just happens very naturally. If I think it and it's a positive thing to say, I say it.

I don't stop myself.

If I have something positive that I'm thinking in my mind about something that somebody did or something that somebody said or something they're wearing, anything, anything,

I say it because why not?

Why wouldn't I?

Like, who doesn't like to hear nice things?

You know, I mean, this world is tough enough as it is.

It's nice to,

to get a compliment. It's.

It's nice to have somebody recognize something in you that you think that nobody sees,

or worse yet,

that you think that nobody appreciates.

So when somebody says something,

when they take the time to notice you and compliment you,

it does something right.

You know it and I know it.

How many times have you been in a bad mood, but somebody said something sweet and it changed your mood.

You could have been crying, you could have been angry,

you could have been having just the worst day ever.

But I don't know, they did something to make you laugh or they said something that made you smile. You couldn't even help yourself.

It just happened.

You can feel the moment the light went on inside of you because they said something kind to you.

So if you felt it,

you know that somebody else is going to feel it when you do it for them.

You know the old saying,

if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything.

My mother always used to tell me that when I was a kid.

And I think it's great advice, I really do.

But I think we should come up with a new saying.

If you have something nice to say,

say something.

That should be the saying.

If you're thinking it, say it.

If it's positive, repeat it.

Right?

That's what we should do.

Reinforce the positivity and let go of the negativity.

That's what we need to focus our energy on.

Something that's going to uplift others.

But the beautiful thing that we know now is that it also uplifts ourself.

Our God is so good,

he is so generous,

he is so life affirming and loving and kind himself.

He basically told his kids, if you're kind to each other.

I'm going to reward you with good health in all ways,

spiritually,

physically,

mentally,

and emotionally.

So I'm going to challenge you.

Try it.

Compliment someone who's frowning.

Say something kind to a stranger.

Start a kindness experiment.

Don't hold it in.

If you think something nice, say something nice.

You never know what somebody's walking through.

You never know what kind of day they're having.

And you never will know what your small act of kindness did for them on that day.

You have no idea if your light was the first light that they've seen in a while.

Now some of you might be thinking, you know, Nina, I can't even remember the last time somebody was kind to me.

People have been so kind, cruel to me.

And if that's. You hear me when I say this,

that's all the more reason to be kind,

because you know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of pain.

I'm going to refer to Luke 6:31.

NIV.

Jesus said,

do to others as you would have them do to you.

Jesus didn't say do to others what was done to you.

Essentially,

what our Savior was saying is that we are to treat others the way we want to be treated,

not the way we were treated.

He's very clear.

There's no room for misinterpretation on this.

Don't give people people what you've gotten.

If you never wanted it in the first place,

be the person you always wished someone had been for you.

Yes,

we do benefit from our good behavior,

but that's not why we do it.

We do it because it pleases God.

We do it because that's the way we love,

like Jesus.

And when we do that,

we change the atmosphere, we change the world.

Your act of kindness, my act of kindness ripples through this world.

Do you think that person isn't going to be more inclined to say something nice or do something nice for somebody else?

Of course they are.

When you're in a good mood,

you're just naturally more inclined to do good in the world.

That's the way it works.

I know. Some days it's easier said than done.

I get it.

I've been ministering to women for years,

and trust me, there were plenty of times that I was going to meet a group of women and I was exhausted.

I mean, there were times that I was crying as I was driving to meet them,

and I would have to get myself together, and before I got there, I would pull over maybe a block away and fix my makeup and,

you know, touch up my hair,

try to make myself look presentable because I didn't want them to know that I was upset and I wanted to be there for them.

So I would walk in exhausted,

physically drained,

mentally tired.

But I showed up.

And you know what?

Those nights were some of the most powerful.

Because when I brought my weakness to God,

God gave me his strength and the Holy Spirit moved.

I say this all to say this when you show up anyway,

when you push past your pain to be kind to someone,

that is selfless service.

And I have to believe that that's the sort of thing that brings a smile to our Savior's face.

What I'm trying to say is don't let a bad day become your good reason to act ugly.

If you mess up,

make it right.

Go back and say,

I am so sorry I wasn't at my best and I didn't mean to take it out on you.

Believe it or not,

that's an act of kindness, too.

We must remember that patience and kindness work together.

1 Corinthians 13 says, Love is patient.

Love is kind.

It starts with patience,

because without patience you can't be kind.

You'll be frustrated,

angry,

judgmental or cold,

but you won't be kind.

Last week I did an episode on patience.

So I would suggest, if you haven't listened to it yet,

that you go back and do so,

because it is the thread that runs through every single attribute of love.

I'll leave you with this.

Be kind.

Be caring.

Be compassionate.

Be the one who reflects Christ.

You don't have to be perfect,

but God does reward earnest effort. And that effort might just change someone's life,

including your own.

And now I'm going to ask you a couple of questions.

Number one,

when was the last time someone's unexpected kindness touched your heart?

Number two,

what intentional act of kindness can you commit to this week,

even if you're tired,

even if you're hurting, and even if you're stressed?

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, thank you for your loving kindness that never fails.

Help us to reflect your heart by showing kindness even when it's hard.

Holy Spirit, give us eyes to see the hurting and the courage to love them with actions, not just with words.

We confess that sometimes we let our own pain get in the way,

but today we surrender that to you.

Clothe us with compassion.

Fill us with your love.

Please use us to help heal heal others.

In the magnificent and mighty name of Jesus,

we pray.

Amen.

If today's message spoke to you, please share it with a friend and follow Born to be a Butterfly so you never miss an episode.

If you would like to dive deeper into my story of healing and transformation,

you can buy my book From Broken to Butterfly on Amazon.

If you have any questions or would like to connect,

Please send me a DM on Instagram, Born to be a Butterfly, or you can email me at ninapajonas@gmail.com. Until next time,

remember the Lord can turn your wounds into wings.

You were born to be a butterfly.