Dave’s Monday Blast – April 25, 2016
The Apostle Paul has provided for us the most compelling descriptor of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.” We have been unpacking this verse the last couple of weeks and have commented upon the virtue of patient love; it is at the heart of what real love is…it is enduring. We also explored the idea that real love is kind. It is not manipulative, it is committed to giving without the hope of reward. With this expression of love we willingly give up what rightfully belongs to us because our love for others trumps our desire to be ‘first’.
Titus 3:4-5a sums it up this way “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.” This is exactly what loving kindness looks like and it is the model we are expected to follow.
For this week:
Love does not envy. In our culture today, envy isn’t necessarily seen as a bad thing. We’re told by movies and commercials that envy can drive us to be better, to get the thing we want, to overcome challenges. If we want something that someone else has, surely we’ll be motivated, right?
But God doesn’t see it that way. Part of the reason He warned so sternly about envy and wanting what others have (Exodus20:17) is because He’s the one who takes care of us. That’s His job (Matthew 6). When we envy, we’re showing our dissatisfaction with what He’s provided, our desire to have more than what He’s planned.
The same is true in our relationships. Envy rots away at the connections between us because we want something we feel like we deserve (Proverbs 14:30). Our frustration grows and grows while our intimacy shrinks and shrinks.
When we put aside envy, however, we’re left with a love that always feels like the “perfect fit”, that’s always fresh. Why? Because we find what we’re looking for. When we’re looking for the best in another person, when we’re on the hunt for the good in them, we’re much more likely to find it. And much less likely to look somewhere else for what we “deserve.”
And we can be very glad that God is like that…not wishing for better humans, but seeking us out (Jeremiah 31:3). Real love always points us back to the one who first loved us (1 John 4:19). He proved his patience and kindness by sending His Son to die in our place (John 3:16-17).
And that is the kind of love that makes any relationship work best. This week let’s work on putting aside envy…contentment is only found in Christ.
