What is Love?
1 Corinthians 13: 4-8a
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails.
Let’s break this down.
Love is patient: The definition of patience is “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.” Loving someone takes a lot of patience. No one is perfect and life can create some of the craziest situations. You have to learn to remain calm in these moments. In the end, it will save you from creating even more trouble. (Yes, I know. It’s easier said than done.)
Love is kind: Kindness is having “the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate.” This one should be pretty clear. You would think that if you love someone that you would be kind to them.
It does not envy: Being envious is having “a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another’s advantages, successes, possessions, etc.” We have to learn to be content with what we have, the situations we are in, and the abilities we have. If we focus on our own strengths and improving those, then we will be a lot happier with ourselves. Envying someone else is only going to do more harm than good. If you love someone, you will not envy what they have, but rather be happy for them. Be proud of them and their accomplishments and encourage them.
It does not boast: To boast is to “talk with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one's achievements, possessions, or abilities.” If your abilities happen to be higher than those of the person you love, then you do not need to boast about it. Boasting will do nothing but hurt the other person. They will end up feeling bad about themselves and like they are unworthy of being with you.
It is not proud: Being proud is “having or showing a high or excessively high opinion of oneself or one's importance.” The world does not revolve around you. It is okay to be proud of yourself when you do a good job, but there is a point where it becomes excessive. If you believe you are superior to others, then you have a problem. We are all human and we all make mistakes. Treat those around you with the same respect you would like to be shown. You are no more important than the person next to you. Which means, yes, you are very important, but so are they. Love them and show them how important they are.
It is not rude: Being rude means to be “offensively impolite or ill-mannered.” When you are rude to someone, it is clear that you are not showing love to them. Even when you are frustrated, you have to try to remain calm and hold your tongue. Love does not say things with the intent of hurting someone’s feelings.
It is not self-seeking: Self-seeking is “the seeking of one's own interest or selfish ends.” When you love someone, you want to do things for them. You want to be a part of their life and do the things that they love. You want to make sure that their needs are met and that they are happy. If you are only concerned about your own happiness and needs, then that is not love.
It is not easily angered: Anger is “a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure, or hostility.” When you truly love someone, it is not as easy to get mad at them. You realize that your relationship is more important than whatever situation you are in. By remaining calm, you let that person know that you care for them. You let go of that anger, and embrace love instead.
It keeps no record of wrongs: A wrong is “an unjust, dishonest, or immoral action.” When things do go wrong (and they will), you have to let them go. Forgiveness is a huge part of love. Do not bring up the things of the past. You have moved on from them. Focus on the moment and the situations at hand. You need to work together to find the best solutions.
It always protects: To protect is to “keep safe from harm or injury.” Love will do anything to keep the other person safe. When someone is that important to you, you never want to lose them or see them get hurt. You want to do whatever you can to keep them happy and healthy, because seeing them in pain ends up bringing pain to you.
It always trusts: To have trust is to have a “firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.” If you love someone, you would not assume that they are being deceiving toward you. Love believes in each other and knows that the other person wants what’s best for you. It knows that the other person would never purposely do anything to hurt you.
It always hopes: Hope is “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.” Love is not always shown toward the people we love. The only person that could always show the perfect love is God. We are human, and like I said before, we will make mistakes. However, our mistakes are not the mistakes of love. They are the slips of hate. In the end, all we can do is hope and try our best to show love. Think positive.
It always perseveres: Perseverance is having “steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.” Love takes work. It is not easy! Things happen and sometimes we let the anger take over. When we truly love, we won't give up just because we made a mistake. True love is eternal.
Love never fails. Never.
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is LOVE.”
