No Love, No Victoryናሙና

No Love, No Victory – We Gain Nothing Without Love

“If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.”

- 1 Corinthians 13:3 NLT

God wants us to be generous. I love being able to be a blessing to other people. When I see someone putting groceries back because they can only spend so much money, most of the time I ask the cashier to put those items on my bill. I hate seeing people go without, so I will do what I can when I can. Doing so is one way we show love to others. I know plenty of other people that do the same thing.

I heard my pastor speak about paying for the items that someone else started to put back. Ever since that point, I have started to do it as well. This is something that is good to do, but without love, we won’t gain anything.

Motives Matter

Love is a matter of the heart first, and then actions that come from a spirit of love. Faith without works is dead, but faith is the first part of that statement. Love and faith are both matters of the heart, so the actions that we take must come from the heart to make a difference. 

We have all met someone that has done things for the wrong motives. We have all BEEN that person that has done something for the wrong reasons. No amount of actions can cover up the missing ingredient of love. It is not the same.

The Same Action Can Have Different Motives

Imagine if after I paid for someone’s groceries I yelled it from the middle of the store. That is not love; that is being selfish and prideful; it's being done so I can tell everyone how “generous” I am. Also, the person may be embarrassed. Is that loving? At the end of the day, my action of buying groceries would mean nothing.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t tell anyone. Remember, I started doing it because I heard my pastor say that she does it. She said it in front of a full church during a sermon. 

Is that the same thing as yelling about my action in the grocery store? Not really, because there is a different motive. One situation encourages others to work on God’s behalf; the other draws attention towards myself. The heart of love makes the difference. 

Today, be generous but do it from a place of love. Don’t be a blessing to get a blessing; Be a blessing to bless others.

Confession Today

“I will be generous with the right heart. I will not give to get; I will give so that others will get. The love in my heart matters, and I will let my actions come from a heart of love and not a place of selfishness.”