What are the scriptures revealing to us about 1 Corinthians 13? If you have missed any part of this series, I hope you will go back and read part 1, 2 and 3 on my website where you are reading this blog. Use the back button or pick the blog tab and the ones you wish to read. All at www.Sallystierhoff.com.
I have been writing about 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 leading up to Easter. Other than Christmas, there is no holiday that demonstrates the love of God for us more than Easter. So why not dig into the love verses and see how they fit into our lives and how we can display God’s abundant love through them.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Last week I wrote about envy, boasting and pride. Yes, it got a bit long and this one is too. It’s impossible to write about all these in a short blog. This week I am tackling dishonor, self-seeking, easily angered and keeping track of wrongs. Oh boy, I have my work cut out for me to get through this by Easter but here goes!
It does not dishonor others. What does it mean to dishonor others? Can we dishonor God and ourselves? To dishonor is to bring shame and disgrace or fail to respect God, others and ourselves. We can bring shame and disgrace to others with our actions and our tongue. When we do these things, we not only dishonor the person we sin against, but we dishonor God and bring shame upon ourselves. A person may think they get away with these things but God see all. Numbers 32:23b and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.
Self-Seeking. A self-seeking person is a person that concerns themselves with their own welfare and interest. As I was surfing the internet, there were some ideas that a self-seeking person is not always a self-centered person who is only concerned about themselves. They say that maybe a self-seeker is mostly trying to get a head and look better than anyone else but could still care for people. I don’t know, it’s a fine line between the two. Whatever the case may be, again it’s elevating our self above other people and God. Also, we may be setting ourselves up for a lonely, miserable life. It again goes back to Romans 12:3, (paraphrase) do not think more highly of yourself than you should.
Not Easily Angered. It’s really hard to be around people that fly off the handle at the slightest thing. I can get up and leave but I really feel for children or the elderly that are stuck. Anger that is allowed to take hold can take over leaving a wake of destruction mentally and often physically in its path. The thing is, everyone gets angry because it’s a human emotion. The good news is that unless we have a spirit of anger ruling us, we can easily squash the emotion and logically see that there no advantage in letting it take hold and grow. It does not show love. It is different than frustration, although frustration could lead to anger; but again, there is a choice to squash it or go with it. Here are three very good verses about anger.
Ephesians 4:26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
Proverbs 22:24 Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered,
Ecclesiastes 7:9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.
Keeps No Record of Wrongs. This one easily can be a product of all the negative actions above and it is not something we want people to do to us. When I did some searching on the internet, I could not find anything but Christian sites that spoke about keeping no record of wrongs. In the secular world it seems to be the thing to do. A person is supported and even justified in doing so. In society today, I see a lot of finger-pointing, record keeping and retaliation. Nothing that resembles a loving Father or what he meant when he said, “love thy neighbor as thyself.” One of the places I see this the most is in divorce, and I can’t say that it is always self-seeking because we are often protecting our children. Although, I do see where there is much hurt, anger and rarely unforgiveness. I’ve been there and I know I did not always handle things well. Again, thank you Jesus for your grace. You know what, sometimes we don’t think or know better, and we just react. That’s why 1 Corinthians 13 should be a plaque on our walls for all to see from the time children can read till they die of old age. Wouldn’t life be great if we all lived by these verses?
The wonderful news is: But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:8
Colossians 3:13-14 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.
The thing is, we have all sinned and hurt people at one time or another. I’m sure most of us have at some point indulged in these negative behaviors that 1 Corinthian 13 discourages. But most of the time with prayer and repentance to God, we can start over in our relationships, do better and learn from our mistakes. I heard this statement on the radio this week and thought it was very good. “We should love people for who they are, not judging them for who they are not.” All we can do as people striving to live out 1 Corinthians 13, is to pray for people, and in a loving manner show them a different way of living and behaving. We also need to show them we care for them; tell them about Jesus, and leave the rest up to God. We are to be seed planters!
None of the above negative behaviors will work toward a good relationship with the Lord, other people or be good for our own self-care. So let us strive to choose to do the opposite such as:
Dishonor: Show compassion and respect
Self-seeking: Be a caring, loving, kind person who thinks of Jesus and others before themselves but without neglecting or dishonoring themselves.
Easily angered: Be in control of our emotions, be a listener, be a peace maker who has compassion and rational thought. James 1:19 My brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.
Keeping record of wrongs: Forgive always, (with the Lord’s help) then keep no records of offence unless a child or someone’s welfare is in danger or it’s a legal matter. The thing about keeping all those wrongs bottled up inside means, there is a lot of hatred there as well. All those bottled-up offence poisons will destroy a person’s mental, physical and spiritual well-being. Proverbs 10:12 Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.
Brothers and sisters, walk in love and strive to do your best.
Prayer
Lord, You are so good and we thank you for your forgiveness. We love that we can come to you in our weakest moments and seek your strength and help. Thank you for love. Your love and the love of others blesses us so much. What would life be like without love? What would life be without you, Lord? It’s a blessing to know both. Thank you, Jesus for Paul’s wonderful words, about love. We pray that the change you made in Paul’s life can be made in many others. In Jesus’ name, amen.
God Bless,
Sally
