This past week, Cindy McCain posted on Twitter a message that she had received from a stranger regarding her family. The message, besides being replete with profanity, contained cruel comments about her late husband and daughter. I am sure that the sender thought that she was being very bold to send that type of message to a public figure.

The behavior of that individual unfortunately reflects a greater problem in our society. We have become bold in our meanness. We have a president who chooses to use his bully pulpit position to insult people. Cruelly. We have reality television shows in which people yell at each other. And then, sadly, we have mentally unstable people who take bold meanness one step further and commit terrible acts of violence, as we saw in New Zealand.

This kind of boldness is not what society needs. Boldly insulting people is not bravery. Instead, it shows a lack of self-control and immaturity. And our public discourse has become exactly that – it is immature.

How do we turn this trend of bold meanness around? By Practicing Bold Kindness. We need to learn to be kind to others, even when it may be outside of our comfort zone.

Below are some ways to start Practicing Bold Kindness. Let’s aggressively work to transform our world with the power that comes from being good to others.

Boldly Compliment: Many of us are scared to pay compliments. We think that if we acknowledge the qualities of another person, that somehow makes us inferior. Nothing could be farther from the truth. By paying a compliment, you show people that you have confidence in yourself and in your own abilities, and that you aren’t threatened by the qualities of others.

The problem is that many of us do too much navel-gazing. We are too obsessed with whether we look good, or whether we said the right thing or sounded smart. As a result, and we don’t notice the people around us. We need to stop self-obsessing, so that we can focus on how we can encourage others.

You should be constantly on the lookout for ways to compliment others. That means being looking for ways to acknowledge when others have done something well, whether it be in their appearance or in how they do a task. And your compliments should not be restricted to family members or friends. You can easily compliment a stranger. I love complimenting the ladies who check out my purchases on either their nails or their hair. I enjoy paying the compliment, and they enjoy receiving it!

Ask yourself, “When is the last time that I paid someone a compliment?” If it hasn’t been in the last 24 hours, then you need to take a hard look at how you interact with others. Consider whether others would describe you as an encourager or as someone who only points out the mistakes of others. Decide that today you will choose to be an encourager to all who encounter you.

Boldly Help: Very often, people who need help do not ask for it. I am loath to ask for help from anyone. My goal always is to not be a burden on anyone.

However, very often people help me without my even asking for it. My husband is incredibly good at identifying when I need help and just taking care of the issue for me. He very often doesn’t even tell me that he has sorted out my problem. It makes me feel very loved and cared for.

My former pastor was someone who knew how to boldly help. During my husband’s two hospitalizations, our pastor came to the hospital both times. He came to see us without asking, which was great. If he had asked, I would have told him not to bother visiting because I wouldn’t have wanted to inconvenience him. He intuitively must have known that because he just showed up each time and was an incredible source of comfort and friendship.

That is the kind of boldness that is required when we help people. We need to be on the lookout for people who are struggling. We then need to identify their need and take care of it. And we need to do this without making a big fuss about it or needing to be thanked.

Think how much better this world would be if we spent our time being on the lookout for how we can help other people. How would our world change if we served people besides ourselves and our immediate families? And what if we did all these good deeds without a need for recognition? Our world would look very different, indeed.

Boldly Give: We all struggle with giving. Some of us are reluctant to give to others because we hold the idea that everyone should have to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, so to speak. Others struggle with generosity because they work hard and want to enjoy the fruits of their labors. Those each are understandable points of view.

However, I have found that the wisest view of giving is this: What I have is not mine. It is God’s. By His grace, He has given me the necessary skills and opportunities to earn money. I am a caretaker of that money, and He expects me to use that money not only for myself, but for others who are in need.

Once you accept that what you have is not truly yours, but rather your money and resources have been entrusted to you to, then giving becomes easier. The question then is not whether you should give to others but to whom.

Bold giving is about seeing a need and not hesitating to use your resources to fulfill it. God helps us with giving opportunities all the time. My husband and I like to go to Washington DC on occasion to visit the museums and historic sites. DC is a lovely city, but it has a very serious homelessness problem.

One night, we were strolling after dinner, and we encountered a lady begging for money. She didn’t specifically ask me for money, but she was making a general plea. So, I walked up to her and gave her some money. Afterward, my husband said to me, “Unfortunately, she’ll probably use that to buy drugs.” I said, “You are probably right. But I wasn’t giving her the money because I thought it would be used well. I was giving her money so that she could see that another human being cares about her.”

And I think that is the real point of giving to others. Yes, we need to share our resources so that people’s physical needs are met. But more importantly, we need to give to others in order to show that we care for them, and that we don’t want them to be hungry or cold.

So, be bold when you give to others. Know that you are a steward of God’s resources. Think about how He would want you to spend your money and give accordingly.

Now, more than ever, it is time to practice bold kindness. Look for opportunities throughout your day when you can show others how much you care for them. Then act on those opportunities without hesitation!