Grace and Peace

It (Love) does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  (1 Corinthians 13:6 ESV)

Love does not take delight in evil; that is, love finds no pleasure in things that are wrong, base, or ungodly.  It does not so much mean that a person delights in wrong doing themselves, but that they get a thrill in hearing something derogatory about someone else.  It is one of the quirks of human nature that we prefer to hear of the misfortune of others, especially their fall into sin, rather than of their godliness or success.  Love should never find pleasure in a bad report about someone.

The flip side of the coin is that love should rejoice with the truth. That is not as easy to do as it sounds.  There are times when we definitely do not want the truth to prevail; and still more times when it is the last thing we want to hear.  Real love has no desire to veil the truth or parse the truth.  It has nothing to hide and is glad when the truth is revealed.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; (1 Corinthians 13:4-5 ESV)

Anger comes naturally to human beings. If you don't believe it, go to the nursery and locate the sweetest little baby you can find. Then take away his bottle and that sweet, innocent child will contort his face into something that looks like it’s right out of The Exorcist.  Anger is not a learned response; it is deeply ingrained in our humanity.  Even when we grow up and learn to mask our immediate reactions that does not mean we are immune to being provoked, irritated, angered, or aggravated and in turn becoming resentful and lashing out.  When anger leads us to sin it makes a fool of us.  A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control (Proverbs 29:11).

Interestingly, the word rendered "resentful" in the passage above translates the word, "logizesthai" which is an accountanting word.  It is the word used for entering an item in a ledger so that it will not be forgotten.  That is precisely what so many people do in growing resentful.  The NIV renders it "keeps no record of wrongs."  The idea is a person whose anger leads them to keep score of all the sins that someone has done against them.  Many people nurse their anger to keep it boiling by brooding over how they have been offended by others.  One of the greatest lessons in life is to learn how to forgive and make the choice to forget.

You might say, but what about righteous anger?  Didn't even Jesus get angry? What does Scripture say about that?  Well, let's look at Ephesians 4:26, Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.  There are times when anger is an acceptable, even necessary, response. So what characterizes indignation that is truly righteous?

It usually does not involve something done against us personally.  When Jesus was abused, vilified, mistreated, He never once lashed back.  He was, however, angered when God’s temple was made a place of comerce thus making a mockery of the worship of God.

Righteous anger instead usually involves an injustice done against another; where we move to defend one who is oppressed.  It is appropriate when God, His purpose, or His will is profaned and perverted.  But even when righteous anger is an appropriate response, it must express itselfs the right way; in Christ-like love which hates the sin, while loving the sinner!

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. (Ephesians 4:26-27 ESV)  Lets bear in mind the truth of this passage of Scripture.  Anger, even righteous anger, must not lead us to sinful responses.  Anger must not be carried and nurtured within our mind and heart, because that leads us to bitterness and resentment and gives Satan a stronghold in our life.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 (ESV)

At the root of our fallen, sinful nature is the desire to have one's own way.  The Corinthians were textbook cases for this unseemly facet of our flesh.   At every turn they looked out for their own best interests. They were rude to one another during the Lord's Table celebration.  They were taking each other to court before unbelievers.  They were competing with one another to demonstrate the most flashy spiritual gifts.  They were lining up behind various teachers and arguing for the superiority of their particular favorites.  They were taking freedom in Christ to the point of license.  Old Blue Eyes popular song, "My Way" could have been their national anthem...and ours as well!

But God uses Paul to point out that love isn't about asserting one's rights and taking all you can, instead love is about giving.  Jesus' disciples were into power, control, and personal rights, too, but He set them straight (and us, also) in chapter 20 of Matthew's Gospel:

But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:25-28 ESV)

Not only the command of Jesus, but the example of Jesus calls us to a life of service and sacrifice.  Rather than that being a life of drudgery; it is life of blessing.  Instead of having it your way today, why not do it God's way!

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 (English Standard Version)

Paul continues the negative description of love in verse 5 by asserting that it is not rude.  J.B. Philips, in his translation, states, “love practices good manners.” Other translations use language like, “does not act unbecomingly”or “doth not behave itself unseemly.”  So just what is Paul driving at here?

Paul may have in mind the conduct of Corinthian believers at worship as described in chapter 11:2-16; as well as that in chapter 14.  In those passages, there are several examples of Christians “behaving badly.”  Rudeness as a behavior is actually a composite of several negative characteristics.

At the heart of rudeness is a thoughtless disregard for the feelings and sensibilities of others. It is a form of disrespect. We act unbecomingly when we simply don’t take time to think through our actions and words.  We instead plunge ahead with whatever it is we are determined to do.  Americans are especially good at this; reticence is not generally found  among our conspicuous traits!  Sometimes we act rudely toward others because we are simply careless and unguarded.  Learning to look out for the concerns of others—sensitivity—is a key component in overcoming rudeness.

I am personally convicted as I study this passage and come to this phrase.  I am a forceful personality (stop laughing), have strongly held opinions, and often speak my mind in and out of the pulpit.  I wonder if sometimes that does more to turn people away from Christ than draw them to him?  Have I been more concerned with saying my piece and getting my point across, than being sensitive and gracious to others?  Especially, have I been graceless in my attitude toward and communication with those with whom I disagree?  These are questions that you might ask yourself also.  Love is more than just being gracious and considerate, but it is never less.  If people don’t see the gentleness of Jesus in us, they are less likely to hear the gospel we proclaim.

I have just spent some time reflecting on the goodness of God and the joy of being with His people today.  It is always good to worship the Lord in the company of believers whose hearts are open to the Word and the Spirit.  Before I closed my eyes tonight, I just wanted to publicly thank God and the faith family at Enon Chapel for blessing me today.

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! Psalm 133:1 (New International Version)

Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! Psalm 147:1 (New International Version)

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant.  1 Corinthians 13:4 (ESV)

In the second of Paul's negative assertions concerning love, he uses a word used nowhere else in the New Testament translated in English as, "boast."  The word literally means to "be a windbag."  Gordon Fee says it suggests self-centered actions in which there is an inordinate desire to call attention to oneself.  It refers to a parading of one's accomplishments; it can be seen as the "other side of envy", for it involves attempting to make others jealous of what we have. While envy seeks to put others down, bragging is an attempt to lift our selves up.  It is the particular sin of pride running wild.

Now remember when Paul writes his pastoral letters he writes with regard to a particular situation or circumstance in the church addressed. The situation in Corinth was a mess and the root of all the sin in their fellowship was pride. The Corinthians were spiritual show-offs; parading their gifts before each other in a conspicuous manner.  Each tried to exercise their gift or office as ostentatiously as possible.  The Corinthians were conceited about their giftings, their teachers, and their knowledge; they even boasted in their worldliness, which was pretty ugly: idolatry, immorality, and incest of a kind which even pagans were ashamed to practice (1 Corinthians 5:1).

It doesn't take a Bible scholar to recognize that God takes a dim view of pride.  In Proverbs, we are told that pride is dishonorable (Proverbs 11:2), destructive (Proverbs 16:18), and that God hates it (Proverbs 8:13).  Pride is the sin of Satan and being the destructive being that he is; he uses every trick to turn humanity to the same path - so that we exalt ourselves above others and even God.

Seeing the danger of pride is fairly easy, the more difficult task is learning how to overcome pride?  Melvin Newland points out three great scriptural princilples to help us.  First, we must remember our mortality.  We are not God; we are but flesh.  "Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." (James 4:14 ESV)  We do not know the span of our life; only God does! Pride causes us to forget our place, but remembering that our lives here on earth are temporary and hang so precariously is a sobering dose of reality.

Next, we should acknowledge our fallibility.  Admit that you are a sinner.  "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (James 4:14 ESV) Not only that, admist that you haven't got everything else together in life either.  Theologically, we are fallen.  Yet, in a practical sense, we often get it wrong-no matter what "it" is.

Last, let's acknowledge God's sovereignty.  While we are mortal, destined one day to die physically, and while we are fallible, failing with regularity, God is immortal and infallible...and He is in control.  "For God is the King of all the earth;sing praises with a psalm!  God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne." (Psalm 47:7-8 ESV) When we act with pride and become arrogant and boastful; we act as though we have forgotten that God is in sovereign control and not us.  Let's remember He is the Creator and we are the creation.

The weekend is almost here, so enjoy the song and have a blast!

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant.  1 Corinthians 13:4 (ESV)

Today, we continue to the next destination in Paul's description of love.  This is the first in a series of negative descriptions, which we find in the last half of verse 4.  Envy or jealousy is a universal problem.  We see it all around us today, do we not?  Many conflicts can be traced to jealousy.

The word used in Scripture here is actually a fairly neutral word meaning "to have a strong desire".  Zealous is derived from the same root word and that can be a very good thing if we are zealous for the things of God.  In Paul's context, of course, the meaning is negative.  It refers here to a strong desire toward an unworthy end.  Paul uses it to remind us that love does not act with a strong desire to seize from another person what he has or it does not act with a sinful possessiveness toward our own possessions in the face of the need of another.

How does envy grow in our lives?  It begins with self love.  This is the base ingredient in jealousy-our prideful orientation to look out for our own best interests first and foremost. Next, we mix in ingratitude.  Think about it, Christians are far from immune to ingratitude. What percentage of our prayers are prayers of thanksgiving to God, instead of requests for things?

Then we begin to compare ourselves to others.  When we do that it's hard not to be envious of some people; they seem to have it all. Our sinful nature wants those things for ourselves, and wishes that we were in their place with their stuff.   That brings us to discontent.  When I compare myself with another, and find myself lacking, I then become discontent with what I have. It is at that poing that resentment tends to add itself to the mixture.

But love does not envy. So, how am I going to allow God to produce in my life the fruit of the Spirit which is love; a real love which does not envy?

First, I need a changed of focus that is fixed on the Kingdom of God.  Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all of these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)  When my focus is wrong, I compare myself with others. When my focus is wrong, I am ungrateful for what I have. When my focus is wrong, I am discontent and I begin to resent others.  Yet, when I focus on what advances God's Kingdom, I am able to move beyond myself and my petty concerns.

Secondly, I need a changed attitude which is steeped in gratitude.  In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.  (1 Thessalonians 5:18)  Gratitude to God for everything guards our hearts against the sin of envy.

Lastly, I need a changed perspective that looks at life with contentment.  I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.  (Philippians 4:11-13) Contentment with the path God has for my life is a strong antidote for envy.

If you are looking for a good read this summer that will stimulate your spiritual growth, let me recommend, So, You Want To Be Like Christ?: Eight Essentials to Get You There, by Charles Swindoll.  Chuck Swindoll is a gifted Bible teacher and an engaging author.  For those familiar with Foster's, A Celebration of Discipline, the subjects might appear familiar, but Swindoll's treatment of the themes is both Scripturally grounded and expertly illustrated.  This is an excellent book for new believers and seasoned Christians alike.  It will encourage you to grow in the faith and follow Jesus on the adventure of a life time.