Our society has confused these two words and use them interchangeably, but they do not mean the same thing.
Kind is often an adjective used to describe Christ and it means:
- :of a sympathetic or helpful nature
- : of a forbearing nature
- : arising from or characterized by sympathy or forbearance
Nice is an adjective that is not used to describe Christ and it means
- : pleasing, agreeable
I raise this point because recently there was an article that gave some characteristics of Christ and he said that Christ was not nice, but He was kind. If you look at the two meanings, it is absolutely true.
Christ called Peter Satan. Does that sound like a nice person to you? I think not. We as Christians are way to pleasing and agreeable at times and we think we are kind. We are not. We are in fact lying to ourselves and deceiving others into thinking Christ was this way.
Think of it this way, nice people do not want to make enemies, but kind people have no problem with this. It is not that we go out of our way to make enemies, but that is a possible outcome.
Look at it this way, in 1 Corinthians 13, love is described as patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, not rude, selfless, not easily angered, and ungrudging. Where is nice on this list? The answer, it is not there and for good reason.
I am not saying go out of your way to not be nice, but stop focusing on being nice and instead focus on being kind. You can achieve so much more being kind.
If you are having problems being kind, then start with asking God to show you how.