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LOVE'S ATTRIBUTES
by willetta pilcher 1 Cor 13:4 - 8 NIV "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. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails...." What a contrast the scriptural definition of love is to the world's definition. A definition that may be interpreted as, "If you love me you will... "I'm first ... My desires are more important than yours ... Life is all about 'Me'" It is a self seeking love, a love of one's self rather than a love for others. We have been told by psychiatry and the media that we must "love ourselves before we can love others." Jesus said, Mat 22:39 "... Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." The psychiatric and media thought is a twist on truth. Jesus' statement takes it for granted that we will love ourselves. What person does not naturally, in a fleshly sort of way, want the best for himself? We learn to be "first" as infants. We cry to be fed and we are fed. We cry for a diaper change and we are obliged. We cry for attention and someone gives it to us. Fast forward a bit and go with a group anywhere and you will see people scramble for the best seat, the best view, the best table, to be first in line, to be honored above another. But Jesus is commanding us to give those positions to others. That is what love does. Someone is bound to object, "I don't ever want to put myself forward... I don't deserve to be first... I don't deserve...." But even that attitude is hardly loving. It is a plea for recognition. "I'm so humble and lowly, you should notice how humble I am...." Taken to the extreme it seeks to grovel before others. Love does not seek to deny the need for the basics of life... food, water, shelter, clothing and sleep. Love simply is not concerned with "self." It does not seek to draw attention either negatively or positively. Without God's help we can never live up to Jesus' command to love our neighbor as our self. It requires denying ones self. Mat 16:24-25 "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." In other words, the will of Jesus comes first and foremost in thought and action. Only then can we love our neighbor as our self. It is a selfless way of living. It has been suggested that the condition that Jesus places before us is in itself selfish. Selfishness is an attitude of the heart. Jesus knows that denying self is a good thing and best for us. It is not selfish on His part to seek our best good. Love always seeks the best good for another. 1 Cor 13:4 - 8 NIV "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. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails...." Willetta has spent most of her life ministering to people. In her late seventies, and a wheelchair now her mode of travel, she now ministers to people through the internet. Her webs are... www.teachmethyways.org www.successwithkids.org www.theseedsower.org Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |