Love Does Not

I Corinthians 13 cont’d: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

I find it interesting and sobering that not boasting is in the so-popular verses describing true love.  These verses are used in weddings and songs, and have been for years, so they are extremely well known and recited.

Think about our relationships with those we love.  We know we are supposed to be patient, loving and kind…not dishonoring or self-seeking or easily angered, etc.  But sandwiched in the middle is “it does not boast, it is not proud.”

I’m wondering if not boasting in how well we love is one of the facets of loving well.  In other words, letting our spouse know how much we’ve done for him in order to manipulate him to give us what we want is not wise.  Boasting about how much we show our love to others through our giving and our serving is not love at all, it’s just exalting ourselves and what we’ve accomplished.

If love is not self-seeking, then love is others-seeking, which is what Christ did for us.  He made himself a man so that he could dwell among us, not as a King on a throne, and he died a sinner’s death, although he was pure and spotless.

That’s the kind of action that is not boasting..

That is love.