Is Love a Part of Your Life Foundation? (part 6)

Fifteen Characteristics of Love (part 2)

Love is Kind, is not jealous, does not brag, and is not proud

6.9.2024

Review

Agape love is the foundation of a strong spiritual life!

1 John 3:22-23 (NKJV)

And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. 23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.

Your love life will most probably be tested more than any other area of life.

Matthew 24:12 (CEV)

Evil will spread and cause many people to stop loving others.

There must be in you a clear choice to love others regardless of how you are treated.

I am not talking about a smarmy, two-faced love that has no standard, treating a person one way in person and another way in private with others. This God-kind, this Jesus-kind of love stands for what is right and truthful, and does not glaze over the obvious.

It always sees God and the end result in every situation.

This Jesus-kind of love is respectful, firm, caring, heartfelt, loyal, honest, truthful, kind, good-hearted, real, and hopeful.

This kind of love is the test of our spirituality or our carnality or our human person ruling over our spiritual person inside.

There is no spiritual growth without growth in love.

A step out of love is a step out of light into spiritual darkness.

We are to be an antidote to the crude, harsh, biting culture we live in.

Part 1, 2 and 3 – We covered 5 things about love:

Part 4 – We looked at 16 things you should do with love..

Every relational problem has its answer in love.

Part 5: 15 Characteristics of Love from 1 Corinthians 13

This love that God has given us is deeper than friendship, deeper than feelings, deeper than sexual attraction. It is a love that puts itself last…

It is an action, not a feeling!

We can love our enemies because we can do the loving thing.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NKJV)

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Last week, we covered one of the 15 characteristics:

1. Love is willing to suffer a long time – Love suffers long…

It is long-tempered, and is willing to put up with a challenge in another person for a long time!

2. Love treats people kindly.

And is kind…

The Greek word for kindness is chrestotes , which means a gentleness that is active, not passive.

Your personality and temperament will make this one either simple and easy or much more difficult.

Kindness is when we show active interest in others and their affairs, when we actively seek the welfare of another.

Kindness is not just an attitude, but is shown by doing something to help another person.

Kindness is active, not passive. It does things for people.

It is not just a benign smile.

*Jesus gave bread dipped in olive oil to Judas, who later betrayed him.

 

Kindness enables us to do things that bless, help, and aid those who do not treat us well.

*Stephen – Lord, lay not this sin to their charge…

*Jesus – Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Practical kindness includes:

Things like mowing your mean neighbor’s grass.

Or helping a new mom with cooking or cleaning at home.

Or helping a person with an infirmity walk down the steps.

Or taking a meal to someone.

Or visiting a person who is hospitalized.

Kindness helps us to do what Jesus said in Matthew 5:44: But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.

Mrs. C Nuzum, The Life of Faith – (The Life of Faith by Mrs. C Nuzum (Springfield, MS: Gospel Publishing House, 1928,1956) p. 84).

Love works by being kind even under long, continued suffering – real, deep suffering brought upon us by someone else – Love will be very kind to that person.

William Barclay:

(Barclay, William. The Letters to the Corinthians (The New Daily Study Bible) (p. 142). Westminster John Knox Press. Kindle Edition).

…There is in so many good people an attitude of criticism. So many good church people would have sided with the rulers and not with Jesus if they had had to deal with the woman taken in adultery.

Galatians 6:1-2 (NLT)

Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.

 

3. Love is not jealous.

Does not envy.

Amplified:

love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy…

The Greek word for envy is the Word zeloo, and from this word we get our word jealous.

*Two kinds of envy:

1) to covet what someone else has, and

2) to wish that a person is not as blessed as they are…

Are you happy when others are more blessed than you?

The God-kind of love is not jealous in its relationships.

A person walking in the God-kind of love is not focusing on themselves; they are focusing first of all on their relationship with the Lord, and they put themselves and their needs last.

A jealous person is thinking only of themselves and how another person’s actions are affecting them!

A person who is jealous is careful to hold onto and maintain their own rights and possessions at all costs.

I was a jealous person as a teenager. I was jealous of my girlfriend. I was jealous of my friends. I was in some ways a codependent person. A codependent person looks to another relationship instead of to God to meet an internal need.

Mrs. C. Nuzum, The Life of Faith (The Life of Faith by Mrs. C Nuzum (Springfield, MS: Gospel Publishing House, 1928,1956) p. 84).

It does not desire the position, honor, power, benefits, favor, esteem or blessings that others have, but is glad to see other people enjoy blessings, and would rather help them to get more than to take from them anything they have.

4. Love does not brag.

Love does not parade itself

Amplified:

is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily

The Greek word for parade itself is perpereuomai, and comes from the Greek word perperos, which means a braggart, or a person who parades themselves and their accomplishments and talents before others.

William Barclay:

The really great men never think of their own importance.

This is a person who loves to show off.

You see this in children. Look at my new toy car, my new shoes, how fast I can run.

This may be okay where you are a toddler, but if you do that as an adult, it shows a deep insecurity.

A person who is insecure in themselves looks for ways to be elevated in others’ eyes.

When a person is secure in God’s love and who they are in Christ, personal accomplishments and talents are simply tools by which to glorify God, and there is no need for self-glory.

Personal bragging is really founded in personal pride! And in personal insecurity.

Being secure in God’s unconditional love and acceptance frees us from the need to gain approval from others, and frees us from the need to show off.

 

Being secure in love also frees us from the need that some have to put others down with sarcasm or cutting comments in order to make themselves look better.

With agape love in force in our lives, we find it easy to keep quiet about genuine achievements.

To quote Mrs. C Nuzum again:

Love does not think, I know how things ought to be done – my opinions and advice are better than the opinion and advice of others – I live better, am used of God more, know more than the other person.

Mrs C. Nuzum, The Life of Faith (The Life of Faith by Mrs. C Nuzum (Springfield, MS: Gospel Publishing House, 1928,1956) p. 85).

5. Love is not proud.

Is not puffed up

God resists the proud!

Proverbs 8:13 (NKJV)

The fear of the LORD is to hate evil;

Pride and arrogance and the evil way

And the perverse mouth I hate.

Proverbs 11:2 (NKJV)

When pride comes, then comes shame;

But with the humble is wisdom.

Proverbs 16:18-19 (NKJV)

Pride goes before destruction,

And a haughty spirit before a fall.

19 Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly,

Than to divide the spoil with the proud.

Proverbs 29:23 (NKJV)

A man’s pride will bring him low,

But the humble in spirit will retain honor.

Isaiah 57:15 (NKJV)

For thus says the High and Lofty One

Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:

“I dwell in the high and holy place,

With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,

To revive the spirit of the humble,

And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”

Psalms 51:17 (NKJV)

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,

A broken and a contrite heart—

These, O God, You will not despise.

1 Peter 5:5-6 (NKJV)

Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time

The Greek word for inflate is the word phusioo, and means to inflate.

A person with agape love ruling them has no need for others to see their accomplishments.

A person living in love may acknowledge success, but knows that all success comes from God.

No self-congratulations are necessary.

Though the God-kind of love doesn’t show off or need affirmation, it is also important to note that true humility can accept genuine thanks and applause for good performance.

I learned this in my own life over 45 years ago after performing the special music during a Thursday night church service. Someone came to me and told me how beautiful they thought my voice was and how well I performed the song. To which I replied, It wasn’t me, brother, it was just the Lord! My friend who complimented me then abruptly took me to a side hallway and told me that I was actually walking in a false humility; that if I were truly self-effacing and humble, I would say a simple thank you to any person complimenting my performance. I should afterward get alone and give God all the glory for using me to bless others, deflecting the thanks privately to Him who helped me.

 

Love deals a death blow to pride. Meditate today on the love of God, and allow it to put your own personal pride in its place!

Action Points:

1. What do you do for others that displays kindness in your life?

2. Are you jealous of others and their gifts and accomplishments?

3. Do you brag about what you have or what you can do?

4. What do you do to counteract pride in your life?