Love
“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, it keeps no record of wrongs.”
1 Corinthians 13: 4-5, NIV
Usually, when I preside over weddings, it is often the case that couples choose this passage from 1 Corinthians 13. Known as the “love” chapter, it is one of the most recognizable pieces of Scripture. Poetic in nature, Paul seems to want to paint a picture of what love looks like. More than just words, he quietly implores his followers to enflesh these descriptive signifiers. After all, it is easy to verbalize love through flowery language, but much more difficult to live it out. Without action, our words are simply shallow and insignificant. For relationships to have any semblance of meaning and depth, our actions go a long way when it comes to how we feel.
Dr. Tony Evans recently addressed this in his sermon, “Kindness in the Culture.” A long-time pastor, he indicates how times have changed when it comes to love. Along with our struggle with the COVID pandemic, he claims we are also suffering from a more serious pandemic called “meanness.” Somewhere along the way, we have lost sight of civility. We have become a culture that has forgotten what it means to be kind. We have gotten lost in the rhetoric of our times and, rather than listening and respecting, we are speaking and demeaning. The art of “agreeing to disagree” has disappeared. We are easily threatened, and we find ourselves either lashing out or being lashed out at.
It seems that the idea of being made in the image of God has lost its essence. In our polarized world, we have seemingly forgotten where the “other” has come from. We view our neighbors as if they are worldly without any divine beginning. We have allowed ourselves to be schooled by the world’s verbiage rather than listening to God.
This has affected how we see and treat others. We have armed ourselves with words and actions that tear down rather than using words and actions that build up. No longer do others get the benefit of the doubt. Judging and attacking have become our weapons of choice. Forgiveness has been eliminated. We have allowed the wrong voices to be the winds beneath our sails.
Paul seemingly addresses this in his stirring letter to the Romans. “Do not conform any longer to the patterns of the world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” (Romans 12:2, NIV) In other words, quit listening to what the pundits say and listen to the voice of God.
Believe it or not, many of our actions come from what we feed our minds. We think, therefore we do. Most of the time, I wonder if we are thinking about what we are saying, much less doing it. Sadly, most of us have aligned ourselves with the various narratives and voices that divide and have disregarded God’s voice when it comes to living out love.
In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, his wisdom penetrates our sinful hearts. He reminds us that the truth of God is vastly different from the so-called truth of the world. Rather than viewing our neighbors as the enemy, perhaps we are being encouraged to see them through the eyes of God. As we begin again on this new day, let us make it a point to do so not with a spirit of meanness or revenge, but rather with a spirit of love.
“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (I Corinthians 13: 6-7, NIV)
