Category: 1 Corinthians

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it keeps no record of wrongs (1 Corinthians 13:5).

Do you remember, Beloved, when you first understood that God is not the Cosmic Scorekeeper? Do you remember reading Psalm 103, where David tells us that “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us”? Do you remember the unfathomable joy you felt when you understood that God actually wanted to forgive you, not hold your sin against you?

Wanna be like God, Beloved? Treat the people around you the way God has treated you. Reflect God’s love into their lives, and spark the tiniest bit of that joy in their hearts. 

Or create a universe from nothing. Your call

Conversely, I suppose you could spend your time and energy making sure that you come out #1 in your relationships. You know, remind the other person of all the things they have done that aren’t quite up to snuff. This keeps you in the power position. This keeps the other person working to make up for the sins they’ve committed against you. That way you can win, right?

???

Beloved, if you’re keeping score, you’ve already lost.

Happy Friday

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered… (1 Corinthians 13:5)

Read all the words, Beloved.

Paul doesn’t say love doesn’t get angry–just that there is a high threshold. 

Even God gets angry, though his anger is always justified, whereas I have been known to pitch a fit over cold tater tots.

No, that was not a metaphor. I despise cold tater tots.

The quicker our anger flares, the higher the likelihood that our anger is unjustified, that we have misjudged the situation. Taking time allows us to fully understand what is happening and whether it is worth getting in a tither about. 

It also allows for mercy and grace to enter the picture, which is really never a bad thing.

I have a strategy for slowing my anger roll that is highly effective on the rare occasions that I choose to use it. I try to see the person I’m angry at as Jesus sees them–a broken, flawed, hurting soul whom God loved enough to send Jesus to die for. I recognize their need for mercy, and I acknowledge that I have in that moment the unique opportunity to be like God and extend mercy. It’s a beautiful thing,

but

it’s difficult because it requires me to take my eyes off myself and focus on the one I’m trying to love. As you may have noticed, that is not my strong suit.

Fortunately, God is far better at this love thing than I could ever be. He sees me as I am–a broken, flawed, hurting soul whom He loved enough to send Jesus to die for. He recognizes my need for mercy, and He extends it.

It is a beautiful thing.

Happy Thursday, Beloved

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking… (1 Corinthians 13:5)

Remember that part where it’s not about me?

It’s still there.

Been there a long time now, and frankly, it’s getting a little annoying.

Let me use my time-travel superpower to peek into next week, when it will surely be about me…

…

…

I’m back. It’s still not about me.

When will I learn,  Beloved? When will I get it through this noggin of mine that love is about the other, not about me? When will I stop pausing to see if anyone notices my patience, my kindness, my complete lack of boastfulness and enviosity and my utter other-seekingness? When will I lose myself in love and forget about Michael, forget to even consider how loving this person might affect me because me is not what matters; me is not why I’m here?

I’ve  been this way a long time now, and frankly, it’s getting a little annoying.

Let me use my time-travel superpower to peek into next week, when I will surely have learned…

…

…

I’m back. 

Oy, I’m a yutz.

Happy Wednesday. Beloved.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude… (1 Corinthians 13:5)

My bible is in the NIV translation–the real NIV, from back in the day. But, I wondered at the use of “rude” here. It just seemed like a strange word for this list. So I checked a number of different translations, and found the vast majority also use the word “rude.” 

A notable exception is the newfangled version of the NIV, which uses the phrase, “dishonor others.”( And the UK version of the newfangled NIV, which also uses “dishonor others,” but misspells “dishonor” because they’re British.)

Anyway, I find the comparison of those two translations interesting. Being rude to someone often involves talking down to them–essentially dishonoring them. When I am rude–and I am, more often than I would care to admit–I am seeking in that moment to exert my power, to show that I am stronger, better, higher up the food chain, whatever. I may tell myself that it came from frustration, or impatience, or stress, or the fact that they provided poor service at the checkout line. I may even apologize for “snapping” at the other person, and give my list of reasons for losing control. The truth, however, is that I vent my spleen on another person because I can, and because it makes me feel better. 

At their expense

Not loving, Beloved.

So, I may have to give the nod to the newfangled translation this time–and only this time. Because when I am rude, I dishonor a person I am called by God to love. 

There is a reason we are taught to be self-controlled, Beloved. It helps us to love more efficiently by reducing the time we must spend apologizing and rebuilding what we have destroyed.

Or who

Or maybe whom

Happy Tuesday

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud (1 Corinthians 13:4).

Here, let me help you, for I am awesome. Please allow me, in all my sparkly goodness, to deliver you from difficulty. I shall love you even though you do that really annoying thing  that I never mention, because I am so busy being loving. Do you remember how I did that utterly selfless thing for you at some time in the past? Please remember it always, though I will never mention it. You should, though.

Beloved, true love is God at work through us. You and I, we’re like the garden hose. We deliver water to the plants, and we can be really useful if we don’t get all wrapped up in ourselves. If we do, we develop a kink, and we’re of no use to anyone.

If you take credit for loving people, draw attention to yourself through it, well, it’s kinda like you’re putting  yourself on a par with God. I’m no Bible scholar, but I’ve read the Book a few times. I can’t think of a single instance where making yourself equal to God is a good idea. 

So go love, Beloved. But do it in His name, by His grace, and for His glory.

Happy Monday, Beloved

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy… (1 Corinthians 13:4).

If I’m looking at you, then I’m not looking at Him.

If I’m obsessed with what He’s given you, then I’m not thankful for what He’s given me. 

If I’m trying to be you, then how, Beloved, how can I be conformed to the image of His Son?

but 

If I’m trying to love you

I will rejoice in your success.

If I’m trying to love you

I will praise God for the gifts He has given you.

If I’m trying to love you

I will use my gifts to strengthen and encourage you

so  that together we might glorify God.

Even when you annoy me

which, alas, is often.

Happy Friday, Beloved

Love is patient, love is kind  (1 Corinthians 13:4).

Kindness is harder than it looks.

I mean, on the one hand, it’s no big deal. It’s not like you’re rushing into a burning building to save puppies and babies and my grandma.

That’s heroism, not kindness.

It’s not like you’ve locked yourself in a lab and dedicated your life to the eradication of smallpox or polio.

That would be selfless, and also kinda sad since we have those diseases under control, but not kind.

It’s not like you’re staring unblinking down the barrel of a machine gun, singing hymns at the top of your lungs and slightly off-key while a terrorist demands that you reject Christ.

That would be…I don’t know what that would be, but it’s way beyond kindness.

Kindness is the little things.

Letting someone go ahead of you in line

Helping someone up after they’ve tripped, and not laughing until you’re sure that they’re OK

Listening to the story you’ve already heard 1000 times and laughing even though it wasn’t even funny the first time

In short, kindness is seeing the other person, noticing what they need, and meeting it–even if it costs you something and gains you nothing.

Let’s face it–Your chances to be heroic today are pretty slim. I mean, how likely is it that you’re going to come across a burning building, unless you set the fire yourself, and I’m pretty sure you don’t get hero points in that case.

But

you will have multiple opportunities to be kind today.

Take them.

Happy Thursday, Beloved

Love is patient… (1 Corinthians 13:4).

Remember that part where it’s not about me?

Well, here we go again.

When I am focused only on myself–the Bible sometimes calls that being “in the flesh”–I am concerned only about my own timetable.

“Let’s get a move on”

“I need you to hurry up.”

“I have to be somewhere.”

“I don’t have time for this.”

“What is taking you so loooong!”

In those all-too-frequent moments, I don’t give a rip about what is happening to the people around me, except in the context of how it is slowing me down.

Not loving

Here’s a little test, Beloved–you are in heavy traffic, running later and later, getting more and more stressed, when you see the lights of emergency vehicles ahead. How do you react?

1. You immediately begin to pray for the people involved in the accident, both the injured and the emergency responders. You pray that God would protect and give wisdom and draw people closer to Himself and generally be glorified in the situation. Congratulations, Beloved! You have just loved.

or 

2. You breathe a sigh of relief and say, “Whew! It’s an accident. The road should be clear after this!”  Thanks for playing. Enjoy your parting gifts.

Patience requires looking beyond yourself and your timeframe and considering the needs of others–even putting them first. That’s what makes it loving.

That’s also what makes it difficult.

Because people are often dumb and slow and get in my way and…

oops 

Happy Wednesday. Beloved.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).

The opposite of love is not hate.

The opposite of love is pride.

When you operate in love, you put the loved one first. Everything you do is for their benefit. When you operate in pride, you put yourself first. Everything you do is for your own benefit. 

Pretty simple, really

All the spiritual gifts and Church roles that Paul has been discussing have one thing in common–they must be exercised in love. If not, they become sources of pride and self aggrandizement and LookatmeamInotawesomeness. 

God will not honor that.

He will not bring the power of the Holy Spirit into that.

He will not bless that, any more than he blessed the Tower of Babel–and for much the same reason.

And so, your gifts and your work will come to nothing.

Beloved, do not focus on your spiritual gifts, or on your role in the Church. Focus on the people you serve, and the love God gives you for them. Pour out a foundation of love, and see what God will build on it.

Happy Tuesday, Beloved

And now I will show you the most excellent way (1 Corinthians 12:31).

Most excellent

I just can’t say those words without Bill and Ted leaping to my mind. 

If you don’t know who I am talking about, you are either too young, too old (highly unlikely), or you have spent significant time off-planet. If you do know who I’m talking about, you probably have the same reaction I do:

Who knew the boys were quoting Scripture?

Anyway, as Paul wraps up his discussion on spiritual gifts he preps us for the next big idea:

Love is more important than any of it. 

Paul’s not undermining the value of spiritual gifts–he’s burned through a lot of papyrus talking about them–but he is pointing out that love is even more important. And Beloved, here’s the great part–anyone can love. It doesn’t matter if you are a hand or a foot or an eye or a spleen, we all have the same capacity to love. So, as we prep for the famous Love Chapter, remember that you are as capable of this as anyone.

Be excellent to one another.

Happy Monday, Beloved