LOVE (vs. Selfishness) – Learning to give to the basic needs of others without motive of personal reward.

(The verse for this character quality is 1 Corinthians 13:3)

Every other quality must be motivated by LOVE.

“You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.” – Amy Carmichael

1 Corinthians 13 defines so well what love is and is not (from the Message).

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it does not have.
Love does not strut.
Love does not have a swelled head.
Love does not force itself on others.
Love is never “me first”.
Love does not fly off the handle.
Love does not keep score of the sins of others.
Love does not revel when others grove.
Love takes pleasure in the flowering of truth
Love puts up with anything.
Love Trusts God always.
Love always looks for the best.
Love never looks back but keeps going to the end.

So what comes to mind as I read through these verses? Love does not lose heart and it endures. Love looks for ways to be useful. Love focuses on people’s needs rather than their faults. Love is not possessive of what has been entrusted to me and is content with basic necessities. Love does not boast in abilities or accomplishments. Love does not look down on others with contempt or disdain. Love does not get irritated or exasperated. Love guards the heart and mind and brings every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Love delights in God’s word. Love dwells on thoughts that are true, honest and pure.

Love is seeing in others what Christ saw in them when He created them. This is not easy to do apart from God’s involvement in our lives.

Personal Evaluation: (Do I Love?)
Do I get discouraged and want to give up when things seem to wrong?
So I look for ways to be useful and helpful?
Do I enjoy telling about my achievements more than listening to the accomplishments of others?
Do I tend to look down on those who do not live by my standards?
Do I get irritated or exasperated with the character deficiencies’ of others?
Do I meditate on God’s word day and night delighting to do His will?

May we look for practical ways to demonstrate LOVE to others this week.

“TRUST steadily in God. HOPE unswervingly, LOVE extravagantly. And LOVE is the best of all three.”
I Corinthians 13:13