Sunday, March 12, 2017

What LOVE Does Not Do...

What LOVE does not do...

Love...keeps no record of being wronged (NLT)
thinks no evil (NKJV)
[is not] resentful (ESV)
keeps no record of wrongs (NIV)

I know the feelings that are swirling around in our minds after reading the above...guilt followed by but, but...

I can hear comedians in my mind (I love standup :) ) going on and on about wives or girlfriends who forget to do something they said they’d do, but never ever forget any little thing the other person has done wrong, no matter how big or how small.  

I can remember the accusations of I’ve uttered that begin with “you always...”

I can recall the defensive phrase of “yeah, but you...”

So many times we say “I can’t trust you because...” yet, the truth of the matter is it should be restated, “I won’t trust you because...”  And yet, because of what we read in this section of the Bible, we find we are not even supposed to “go there.”  Once we have said to our child, spouse, coworker, friend, etc., “you are forgiven,” that is it.  We are not to bring up every time they left their socks on the floor, left their bed unmade, or showed up late to a meeting.  Not that we should not say something about this incident, but we should not bring up past incidents time and time again.  

Love thinks no evil.  We should not automatically go to the past when someone is late getting home or coming to a dinner or social engagement.  Anger should not be rising up as we wait.  When they get there, we will find out what happened.  We will not go down that neuropathway that is ready to accuse.  We will not think ill of the other person.  

Love is not resentful.  There are times when we are guilty of thinking about a coworker, “they get here late and do little work and then get the accolades.”  We are not to be resentful.  

When someone is rude behind the back of a supervisor, but always polite in front of them, we are not to be feed into resentment.  

When someone gets a good grade for little effort, we should not resent them.

When we allow resentment to grow in our minds, it influences our thoughts and decision-making.  There is no room for resentment in Love.  

As we go through the week, meditate on these verses of love.      

Ever dependent upon grace,
Cindy 

1 Corinthians 13:4-6New Living Translation (NLT)

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.

1 Corinthians 13:4-6New King James Version (NKJV)

4 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;

1 Corinthians 13:4-6English Standard Version (ESV)

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[a] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

1 Corinthians 13:4-6New International Version (NIV)

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

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