How to Be Kind to Evildoers

One of the points that stood out to me in our Ward's Primary Presentation last Sunday is the fact that we should be kind to everyone. Of course, this is nothing new. We all know that we should be kind to everyone, but how often do we actually think about what that means or how we should try to do that?

Being kind to everyone means being kind to the people who are not kind to us. It's means being kind to those who hold and promote different political opinions and who are actively trying to make the world a worse and more evil place. And it means being kind to kidnappers and murderers and those who have committed the worst sins imaginable. How on Earth can we manage to be kind to people like that, and what forms might that kindness take?

Certainly, we shouldn't compromise our principles and politely step back and let others do terrible things to others and the world. Being kind doesn't mean tolerating all sorts of behavior. Then, what does it mean, especially in the context of evildoers?

Part of such Christian kindness must include considering the eternal welfare of everyone involved, including the evildoers. When you consider their eternal trajectory, it becomes easier to feel sorry for those who are, morally speaking, going downhill. In fact, this pity can motivate us to try to convince them to stop digging themselves deeper into the pit, and consideration for others' eternal welfare can motivate us to do everything in our power to stop wrongdoers from dragging others down with them.

Being kind to evildoers means caring about their eternal welfare enough to want to convince them to stop. It means trying to stop them from doing evil, if for no one else's benefit but their own. It means trying to redeem evildoers, not just stop them or punish them. Of course, they must be stopped, but a kind person would try to stop them for their own sakes as well as everyone else's.

Being kind to evildoers doesn't mean tolerating all sorts of behavior. It means trying to put a stop to such behavior because you pity the misery to which their behavior is leading them.