No Excessive Pride in Love
Father, I am grateful that this was the last day of school until after the first of the new year. I ask that You enable me to use my time wisely and that my rest would be restorative. Amen.
1 Corinthians 13:4d (<<click here to read the passage)
There are many things in life that are no problem for us in moderation. The problem arises when we overindulge. An occasional sweet treat is enjoyable, but eating too much of it can adversely affect our health – weight gain, tooth decay, diabetes, etc. We know that too much alcohol can give us all kinds of issues. Even things meant for our good can take us downward if we overdo them, medications, for example.
Did you realize that you can drink excessive amounts of water? We understand that water is good for us. It is essential for our very survival. But if we consume it in too great a quantity, the Mayo Clinic states that our kidneys can’t get rid of the excess water. The sodium content of our blood becomes diluted. It’s called hyponatremia, and it can be life-threatening.
We have to be careful in many areas of our lives.
Pride is one of those areas. Pride in and of itself is not necessarily bad. There’s nothing wrong with feeling a deep pleasure or satisfaction that comes from our achievements. If you’re a good speaker or play an instrument well, or if encouraging and loving people comes easy for you, it’s all good.
We get into trouble when we cross the line, become braggarts, and speak with too much pride about something we have done or possess. When we begin thinking that we are better and more important than other people, that’s a problem. We often describe those kinds of people as being arrogant.
Love suffocates in that kind of mindset. Love has so much to do with others, and if we are stuck on thoughts of ourselves, how great we are, and how others are so below us – love ceases.
The last part of verse 4 from 1 Corinthians 13 from the Amplified Bible reads,
…love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant. AMP
Another poignant verse is found in Proverbs 16:18, which says,
Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall. NLT
When we begin to feel that we are the only ones worthy to stand, we lose the support of others, so much so that we fall…and fall hard. If we go too far down that trail, we can even lose God’s support.
“The Lord resists the proud; but he gives grace to the humble.” Proverbs 3:34 (Septuagint Bible)*
And that, my friend, is most definitely dangerous territory. Lord Jesus, may we guard our hearts from excessive pride. Amen.
*An ancient translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew to Greek
Dec 21st, 2023, Thurs, 7:22 pm
Love Like My Father
Father, I am surely blessed! I have friends in so many places, and I’m glad that where I currently work is no exception. Please bless those around me, and if I can be a conduit of that blessing, use me! Amen!
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Earlier this week, I stepped into our elementary school between routes and saw a boy who has ridden my bus a couple of times this year but regularly gets on and off at a family member’s house. I’ve had to correct him a few times when he’s been on my bus, but it has never been anything crazy out of line. It’s the usual – sit down, stay out of the aisle, don’t play over the seats, please. I do that with many of my kids.
When he saw me, he stopped, turned around, and hugged me. In his short conversation with me, in a roundabout way, he acknowledged he wasn’t the most obedient kid around and that he was doing better, and that I would be amazed at how much he’d improved in his behavior. I encouraged him and said that I hoped that I’d see him soon.
What registered in my heart and mind was that I didn’t think he was that bad of a kid. Yeah, he’s a boy through and through, but that doesn’t make him a bad kid. He is full of energy (most boys are!), but that doesn’t make him a bad kid. He gets excited and probably reacts quickly in certain situations, and more than likely, those reactions aren’t always the wisest…but even that doesn’t make him a bad kid.
My heart went out to him because, without really saying such, he was apologizing to me for being bad and, oddly enough, sounded like he was hoping I would give him a second chance because, for some reason, he felt like he’d let me down.
I have no idea what bus he rides, but I am eager to have him ride my bus again, to assure him that he’s a good and loved kid.
Lord Jesus, I come before You asking…well…asking that You would help me to be quick to love and not so quick to judge or label or to hold to too high of a standard. I honestly don’t think I did that with this child, but I may have done so with others.
As You well know, I have been going through 1 Corinthians 13 – and really, I’ve just gotten started, but I acknowledge that love must permeate my heart, soul, and mind in my interactions with everyone!
Looking into this boy’s eyes and seeing the longing in them – longing for love and acceptance – really took hold of my heart.
Father, how many times have I stood before You like this boy stood before me? I know I can do better, and I really want to, but sometimes I’m as human as human can get. Sometimes, my energies are directed in areas that are not best for me, and I react toward things in not the wisest of ways. I, too, have longed for love and acceptance…and with You, that is what I get. Every. Single. Time.
May I be like my Father. Amen.
Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. 1 John 4:7-12 NLT
Dec 20th, 2023, Wed, 7:48 pm
We Need Spiritual Heart Transplants
Two matters of great importance lay heavy on my heart today, Father. I am so grateful that both of them were no surprise to You. I lay them in Your surpassingly capable hands. Amen.
1 Corinthians 13:4c (<<click here to read the passage)
Love…is not jealous or envious… AMP
Love is complicated, isn’t it? A significant factor in our inability to love is the fact that we have not been loved enough ourselves.
Speaking with a friend the other day, it came up that her daughter was regularly being berated by another girl in her grade level. Mom told her that the antagonist was being nasty because she was broken. The other girl wasn’t expressing any love whatsoever because she probably had minimal reserves. She was perhaps loved to a certain degree, but not nearly deeply or often enough. And her nastiness is nothing like love because it is driven by jealousy and envy…and those are not love.
This past spring, we had trouble starting our mower. Long story short, we had to have the carburetor replaced. The mechanic who serviced it said that our gas contained ethanol. Ethanol is derived from corn. It is blended with gasoline to improve air quality, engine performance, and environmental impact. The problem was that we had repeatedly let it sit in the mower over several winters, and the ethanol began to dissolve the rubber gaskets in the carburetor. He recommended filling it with gasoline with no ethanol (much more expensive, by the way!), mowing with that toward the end of the season, and then letting that sit in the tank through the winter months.
Our lives are like that. It may not be easy to think this way, but love is what keeps us moving…it is our motivator. There are times when the love we receive is in short supply. Other times, other things are added to the love we receive. They may be a means of stretching the love to make it go further. But if that’s all we have to live on, it begins to take a toll on us. Over a period of time, it breaks us down until, eventually, we are broken.
Our hearts of stone just can’t take it… And just like our carburetor had to be replaced, so do our hearts.
The Old Testament prophet Ezekiel wrote through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart [a heart of flesh.] Ezekiel 36:26 NLT
Lord Jesus, enable our love not to be jealous or envious but give us new hearts, we pray, that are tender and responsive to You. Amen.
Dec 19th, 2023, Tues, 12:41 pm
Love – Take Time…
A little bit of the white stuff is coming down today, but probably not enough to slow anything down too much. I am always amazed at the diversity of Your creation, Father. Thank You for the joys to behold!
1 Corinthians 13:4b (<<click here to read the passage)
…love is kind and thoughtful… AMP
As I sat to write this afternoon, I knew the words I wanted to address in verse four but wasn’t exactly sure where to go with them. So, I started poking around a bit. The first thing I did was to look up the word “kind.”
Merriam-Webster defines “kind” to be of a sympathetic or helpful nature / of a forbearing nature.
OK, that led me to look up “forbearing.” The Collins Dictionary states it this way. Someone who is forbearing behaves in a calm and sensible way at a time when they would have a right to be very upset or angry.
But then Merriam-Webster defined “forbearing” as given to or chosen or made with heedful anticipation of the needs and wants of others.
Love is a multifaceted word. The Apostle Paul fleshed it out pretty well here in verses 4-7. I’ve purposely chosen to use the Amplified Bible because of its ability to make known all the little nuances we might otherwise overlook. This is my second post with this portion of the first part of verse 4 alone!
We have much to learn when we speak of love. All of the above definitions direct our thoughts in all the right directions.
I truly believe that love is a thing of time. For love to be what it can be, we need to take the time to invest in it, and that is done by investing in others. First and foremost is our investment in our relationship with our Heavenly Father. And with that as our primary goal, we can then invest in ourselves. We can come to love ourselves, not in a selfish, self-gratifying way – but seeing ourselves as God sees us and loving what that is. Then, we can learn to love others how they need to be loved!
When I first read Merriam-Webster’s definition of forbearing, a hymn came to mind (surprise!) written by William D. Longstaff following a service in Keswick, England, where he heard Griffith John – a missionary from China – speak in 1882. The words that rang in Longstaff’s heart and mind were, “Take time to be holy.” And the hymn of the same name was born.
Take a moment and read through the beautiful text of this hymn and see what love can do if we just…Take Time to Be Holy. (I’ve also placed a lovely piano accompaniment at the bottom of the post if you want to listen to it while reading the text.)
Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.
Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.
Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.
Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide;
And run not before Him, whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,
And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.
Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
Each thought and each motive beneath His control.
Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.
Dec 18th, 2023, Mon, 12:47 pm
400 Years of Silence
It’s been a full day, and it’s not quite over yet. Father, in the middle of it all, I would ask for Your blessing on what is yet to come. Amen.
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A friend recently posted a quote from a pastor in the Atlanta, Georgia, area – the pastor’s name is Louie Giglio. The quote is taken from an interview he had with a gentleman by the name of Chad Bonham, as posted on www.beliefnet.com
This is what he had to say,
We go from Malachi to Matthew in one page of our scriptures, but that one piece of paper that separates the Old Testament from the New Testament represents 400 years of history—400 years where there wasn’t a prophet, 400 years where God’s voice wasn’t heard. And that silence was broken with the cry of a baby on Christmas night.
It stirred my heart and my brain! And it got me thinking. First of all, you might know this, and it is inferred, but just in case, the book of Malachi is the last in the Old Testament, and Matthew is the first book in the New Testament canon.
It’s interesting that Malachi sits in that position. He is considered a minor prophet in the Old Testament, mainly because he did write a lot. But what I find interesting is what the writings of Malachi dealt with. (A really cool website is bibleproject.com – I’ve referred to them before, but they create amazing synopses of books of the Bible. Click on the word Malachi to watch the one on his book – it’s only about 7 minutes long.)
Malachi was written to confront the Israelites who had returned from exile to Babylon. You would think it would have taught them something, but for most people, the whole experience was lost on them. For the most part, they learned nothing. They were as rebellious as ever – neglectful, selfish…and sinful as all get out.
But…the one big thing that Malachi talks about is a new Elijah and a new Moses that will be coming. And guess who those people were…the new Elijah, who would proclaim the new Moses, would be John the Baptist – born to Elizabeth, a cousin to who? Mary, the mother of the new Moses – as such – Jesus Christ!
The writings of Malachi were God’s last words to the world until the coming of Jesus. The whole Christmas story was about God breaking back into history. Due to humanity’s degradation and out-and-out rebellion, God had cut off communication. They weren’t listening, so silence it was…for 400 years!
Amazingly, we are on this side of that history. But what is challenging to deal with is the fact that we haven’t changed a lot. Jesus’ life, sacrifice, and resurrection have indeed impacted millions. Still, we must admit that even followers of Christ struggle to keep themselves on the straight and narrow path He has set before us.
May it be our prayer to seek out God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:30-31). That, my friends, is what it all boils down to. If we can master those things, we live how God calls us to!
Dec 17th, 2023, Sun, 5:09 pm