Nashville-based singer/songwriters Ellie Holcomb and Jillian Edwards and their musical collaboration–The Dailys–released a four-song EP last year. Both Holcomb and Edwards have become staple songwriters in the Nashville songwriter community over the years. They have co-written ten songs together including songs that have also appeared on their individual solo projects. Canyon by Ellie Holcomb was one of my top 10 albums of 2021. Meadow by Jillian Edwards was one of my top 10 albums of 2020.
"The music-making community in Nashville is a rich one, and sometimes...just sometimes ...you get to collaborate with some of your favorite artists and people to make a project together - in this case, Jillian and Ben," shares Ellie Holcomb. "We hope this project is full of the kind of beauty that nourishes the soul."
Jillian and Ellie express their prayers to God, allowing listeners to eavesdrop on their vertical offerings and captivating ballads, one of their strengths. Both women are anointed singer-songwriters and have a profound way of bringing me closer to God with their poignant words, tender singing, and inspirational truths. I had the chance to speak with Jillian about "Be Kind."
Please tell me the personal story behind this song.
In Colossians 3:12, I was drawn to the action of clothing yourselves with kindness, which is a call to action. That resonates with me. There is some responsibility we have, to act in kindness, in the same way that kindness is one of the fruits of the Spirit. A fruit of the Spirit to me is signified in that a person who is in the Spirit exhibits kindness. It seems that there are these profound, small, life-changing actions we take to become people of kindness.
Regarding writing this song with Ellie and Ben, this message is a natural flow out of what we are all hungry for. We wrote this before the pandemic and the events of 2020, and I'm sure you've seen over and over that God's timing has been so faithful with the messages we've needed, when we've needed them. The idea of the song is that the verses are about viewing all of God's children, every human, as God's child and how we were all children at one point.
Which Bible verses connect to the message of the song?
Colossians 3:12 (VOICE): "Since you are all set apart by God, made holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a holy way of life: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience."
1 John 4:21 (NIV): "And He has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister."
Philippians 4:7 (NKJV): "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Matthew 25:40 (NIV): The King will reply, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me."
Romans 2:4 (NIV): "Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, forbearance, and patience, not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?"
Matthew 11:29-30 (NKJV): "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
Luke 6:35 (NIV): "But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Highest because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked."
1 John 1:9 (NIV): "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV): "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"
What is the takeaway message?
Thinking about how we tend to show kindness towards little children, while they are learning and growing, we end up having less compassion for adults, making assumptions about them. When we have disagreements with any person in the world, if you change your perspective to how this person was once a little child, and ultimately, we all have our child-like traits in us, the secret to this spiritual gift of kindness is to have the humility to look at someone you are tempted to judge or have a mean spirit towards, and the challenge to remember that this is someone's daughter, this is someone's son, and they are carrying things I know nothing about. It's a convicting thing to remember.
We are all guilty of assuming things about people sometimes. Other people are surviving with the circumstances in their lives. In addition to those passages we discussed, where God tells us to be kind as He is kind, and kindness is a spiritual gift that leads us to repentance, we also know from 1st Corinthians 13 that "love is kind." Love believes all things. To me, that goes hand in hand with believing the best story about people and leaves room to hand out a lot of grace. The command to be kind can become like a behavioral checklist. That won't last. What will last is knowing God and His kindness and grace more, and that's how we are able to share His grace and kindness with others.
Lyrics:
Everyone you meet was little
Everyone you meet has grown
Everyone you meet is wondering how to get back home
Mmmmhmmm
The first breath that we take here
Well, it comes out as a cry
So when the tears roll down we remember we're alive
So be kind
We can be kind
Take some time
To look a stranger in the eye
And be kind
Mmmhmmm
And in some way we're all soldiers
We are brave and we are scared
Everyone you know is fighting for their life somewhere
So be kind
We can be kind
Take some time
To look a stranger in the eye
And be kind
Mmmhmmm
Everyone's a wonder
Everyone is rare
If we really saw each other
We'd find treasure everywhere
So look after someone little
We're all little in some way
It's the little acts of kindness that remind us we're okay
Mmmhmmm
So be kind
We can be kind
Take some time
To look a stranger in the eye
And be kind
Mmmhmmm
Be kind
Be kind
Mhhhhmmm
Be kind
Mhmmm
We can be kind
Hmmm
Closing Thoughts
While listening to this song, I am challenged to think about how I'm looking out for the least of these. Jesus commands believers to love others as He loved us, and to show His love by helping people who can't help themselves. That's how we can show God in us to others. Also, look for God in the "least of these," as Jesus tells us in Matthew 25:40 (NIV): "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me."
We all need to be the love of Jesus. We are the body of Christ, and we don't have to do everything ourselves. God has placed us in different parts of the world, and we each have different abilities and opportunities to do something for God. How many of us have a lonely widow that lives near us that we can serve? You don't need to go on a mission trip. You can serve right where you are. His kindness leads us to repentance. He's a kind God. He wants us to know Him. Let His kindness lead you to repentance. This is a transformation song.
When you recognize God's Sovereignty in your life, then you are in the proper mindset to die to yourself and focus on the needs of others. That's His heart, to care for the oppressed, the victimized and the least of these. Look at injustice in the world through God's eyes and you can't help but be moved to act. Jesus commands believers to love others as He loved us, and to show His love by helping people who can't help themselves. There is so much injustice in the world, on so many levels. As the hymn sings, "They'll know we are Christians by our love."
God explains love in 1st John 4:19: "We love because he first loved us." God's love was given at an outrageous cost, the life of His only begotten Son. As stated in the hymn, "Love so amazing, so divine, it demands our lives, our minds, and our souls." Not only should we love God because He first loved us, but we should also love others unconditionally because while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. This is an important message for everyone because Jesus tells us to love our enemies as we love ourselves. Since so many of us have trouble loving ourselves, no wonder it is hard to love our enemies.
Looking out for the needs of others is what matters the most. This song is about realizing that if your eyes are open to the needs of others around you, and if you serve others and care about people more than thinking about your doubts, then you can live out the life-giving words of this song: "And in some way, we're all soldiers/We are brave and we are scared/Everyone you know is fighting for their life somewhere/So be kind/We can be kind/Take some time to look a stranger in the eye/And be kind." Amen to that.
NRT Lead Contributor Kevin Davis is a long-time fan of Christian music and an avid music collector. He credits the message of Christian music for leading him to Christ. Currently, he lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and three daughters.
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