December, 2003

Paul opened this famous Love Poem with a proclamation: Love is patient, love is kind. This statement is a reflection of God whose name is Love. Patient means long-suffering. In other words, love is having a long fuse and slowing to anger. Love helps us to handle interruptions, disappointment, and even mistreatment without exploding. Kind suggests gentle behavior. It is a unique word in the Bible because it was only used once here. The closest Greek word to this is the word Jesus used when He said, “My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” Love helps us to not burden others with unbearable yoke.

Then Paul used eight negative descriptions of love as building blocks to building relationship with others. It is not envy: This word carries both positive and negative connotations. “Eagerly desire” the greater gifts in I Cor. 12:31 is used in a positive sense, while it is used negatively here to remind us that love doesn’t mix well with rivalry. Love helps us to be joyful with those who have while we may not have. It does not boast: This word literally means “behave as a braggart.” Boasting indicates that a person wants others to think highly of him or her, regardless of whether it’s true or not. When we strive to be recognized, love would easily be shuffled to the background. Love helps us to value others without the need to be recognized. It is not proud: In Greek, this is a picture word—someone puffed up like a bellows. Proud isn’t the same as Pride. Proud is to parade one’s abilities, accomplishments, and so on. Pride is to respect one’s self image. Love helps us to faithfully serve others with humility. It is not rude: It is quite easy to capture its meaning. Love and obnoxiousness doesn’t mix at all. Not to be rude means to behave properly, treat others and ourselves with respect. Love helps us to create a “light-spirited” environment. It is not self-seeking: Ever since we were children, we’ve been trained to win. One football coach said, “Winning is not everything; it is the Only Thing!” Though there is nothing wrong to excel one’s potential, yet if it were the only thing on our minds, then, the needs of others will easily be missed. Love helps us to not get credits for what we have done. It is not easily angered: Anger comes from irritable or touchy attitude. This emotion usually arises when things don’t go our way. Anger management is a skill to be developed by us in the following area: Quick to listen, slow to speak (respond), and even if it deemed necessary, slow to anger (react). Love helps us to live with the unpleasantness of others without becoming unpleasant to others. It keeps no record of wrongs: Imagine we keep a record of how many times a person wronged us! It doesn’t have any benefit except to become more sensitive. Jesus said that we needed to forgive seventy times seven times. He didn’t tell us to count; He told us not to count! Love helps us to have a bad memory of those who have wronged us. Love does not delight in evil: This is the foundation of biblical love. People often misunderstand and believe true love to have no boundary. This is not the case. The word evil renders unrighteousness. Not only should we be righteous before God, we should not lead others into unrighteous behavior. Love helps us to lead others away from sin. Though these eight descriptions were written in negative terms, yet they are positive building blocks to building an others’ centered life.

With a conjunction, but, Paul changed to five positive descriptions of love. (Love) rejoices with the truth: Truth here means righteousness. The negative spectrum of love is to reject evil, and the positive spectrum is to rejoice with the truth. Truth and love goes hand in hand. There is no compromise at all. True love is based on the idea that there is a right and wrong way to treat people. Knowing this fact, we'll be able to practice the positives of love. It always protects: The word “protect” means “to cover or to conceal.” It doesn’t mean that love sweeps sin under the rug. It means to provide the person who sinned the space to repent and the time to restore. (It) always trusts: Since we don’t have the ability to know one’s motive, love gives people the benefit of the doubt; and not to be suspicious at all times. (It) always hopes: Biblical hope goes beyond wishful thinking; it is a confident expectation. In this context, love always drives us to have a quiet confidence in God’s ability to work in people’s lives. It may seem hopeless to us, but in God, there is no impossibility. (It) always perseveres: It is a picture of a stouthearted soldier. No matter how difficult it may seem, love keeps on marching, long after events and emotions tell us to stop.

This leads us to the conclusion of this great Love Poem: Love never fails: A better translation is: love never ends! Everything we do, spiritual or otherwise, will go away one day, but not love. It goes on into eternity! Since that’s the case, we might as well practice it now. Christmas season is the best time to love one another because God shows us what true love is when He walked on this world in humanly form.

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