No Love, No VictorySample

No Love, No Victory – Love Doesn’t Do That

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.  It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.  Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”

- 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT 

Love gives you everything that you need for this life. This is not to say that it is easy to apply, but Paul gives us some clear direction of how love does NOT act!

Not Jealous or Boastful or Proud or Rude

Love does not make it about us. We all are tempted to do this, and at times we have all fallen into this trap from the devil. The most important thing to do when we see ourselves doing this is to make the adjustment to not stay there. When you find yourself in that situation, do not defend your action with intention. Own it, adjust, and move forward. 

Does NOT Demand Its Own Way

The relationship is more important than being right. It can sometimes be easy to get caught up in using the Bible to defend having things our own way. Once again, I speak from experience. The interesting thing about having our way is that sometimes we are wrong! We are not perfect. However, sometimes we allow the desire to “have our own way” win over the best action for the situation. When in a disagreement, do what love would do. 

Not Irritable and Keeps No Record of Being Wronged

I love how these two go together. Love is not easily angered. Another translation says, “love has a long fuse.” And it keeps no record of being wronged. It is easy to become irritable if we continually count all the ways that we have been wronged. If we do that continually, we will have the shortest fuse ever. We have all hurt other people, so let's extend the same grace to others when we are on the other side: do not be easily angered, and keep no record of the past.

Does NOT Rejoice About Injustice; Rejoices When Truth Wins Out

Love wants the truth to prevail. It is not loving to enjoy someone else's misery. Love puts ourselves in their shoes and looks at things from another perspective. No matter what the truth is, that is what love does. In times like these, let’s make sure we are walking in love with everyone!

Confession Today

“Love is not jealous or boastful, so I will not be either. Love does not demand its own way, so I will not either. Love is not irritable and does not keep a record of being wronged, so I will not either. Love rejoices in truth, so I will rejoice in truth. Whenever I find myself doing something love wouldn’t do, I will ask God to help me make every adjustment that I need to make. Love never fails.”