Love finds no joy in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth. - "What is Love?" series4/25/2015 ![]() We live in a culture that finds joy in the wrong things. Whether it is growing drug use (both medical and recreational), perverted sexual activity (including adultery, homosexuality and ‘gender reassignment’), the pursuit of personal success (even at the cost of the life of a child), people actually enjoy things that go against the holiness of God. There was a time when we as a people were tolerant of sin, loving those who did evil, but now we are actually legalizing and promoting unrighteousness as the preferred way to go. This is not just about having a different view of sin. It is about transferring our source of joy from those things that are right to those things that are wrong. It is a seriously dangerous shift. We were created with the capacity to do right and the capacity to do wrong. When we do right, good things happen in and to us. There is a real sense of fulfillment and satisfaction when we do the right thing. There is a true sense of loss and sadness when we do the wrong thing. The first time you do something wrong, you do it with fear, and immediately feel awful. You try to hide it, and cover your tracks with lies. You are embarrassed. You may have enjoyed the rebellion for a moment during the activity, but the after effects start to destroy you. It is in no way fun or enjoyable. But then nothing happens. You seem to get away with it. So at some point, even though you told yourself you wouldn’t, you end up doing it again. Each time you do the deed, you feel less and less fear, shame, and guilt, and a little more fun and enjoyment. The removal of the ‘negative’ emotions makes room for the ‘positive’ emotions. Before you know it, you have made a career out of doing the wrong thing and it has become your source of joy. We were actually designed by God to find great joy in doing the right things, in living the right way. That’s why compassion ministries are such a great experience for people. You end up doing good for those who can’t do for themselves, and in the process you find a great amount of joy. The work is sometimes hard, and nasty, and thankless. But you leave with a sense of fulfillment as a human being. That’s how God designed you. This joy is in alignment with love. Wherever your heart is… that’s where you will find joy. During the first century, the apostle Paul wrote a letter to a group of Christians who lived in a very wicked culture and explained what true love is. They were surrounded by sin of all types, and the people who were doing those sins had pushed through the negative emotions and found a place of enjoyment in them. Paul wrote, “Love finds no joy in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth.” (1 Corinthians 13:6) In other words, if you find joy in sin, you don’t have true love. If you have true love, you will find great joy in the truth. Unrighteousness is against the truth. It is the anti-truth. God is truth. His words are truth. It is impossible to find true joy outside of truth. It is impossible to find true joy in sin. If you want to love someone, you will not find any joy in your sin or their sin. Instead, true love will find great joy and fulfillment in the truth of God. You love people by doing right by them. If you do the wrong thing, you do not love them. If you support their wrong, you do not love them. People find joy in the wrong things because they don't have love for the right things. Loving God and loving people means that our joy will be in the reality of who God is, and who He designed us to be. Today, let your heart take you into truth, and experience the joy that comes with that love. [Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.] Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry. ![]() How is your memory? One fellow, as he aged would say, “I’ve got a good memory… it’s just short.” Memory is an interesting thing. As humans in a fallen world, we tend to forget the things we want to remember, and remember the things we want to forget. Bad memories seem to stick longer than good ones. I can remember some of my childhood injuries in greater detail than I can some of my childhood victories. This inequity in memory extends into our relationships. We are prone to remember the wrongs people have done to us with much more clarity than we do the positive things others have done. We keep track of various things in our lives. And while we may have trouble keeping track of our receipts and keys, we know exactly why we will never invite certain people to dinner. In fact, there are likely some people in your life that you have your radar up to keep score before they say the first thing, because you know from previous history that they are going to be a problem in your life. The problem is not that we remember things about people, but what and why we choose to remember certain things about people. Whenever you go to a sporting event, you will find fans from both teams. As the players are introduced, the home fans will cheer for their players. When the opposing team is introduced player by player, there may be some ‘boos’ from the crowd as certain players are named because there is a history there. Perhaps that other player has had some really good games against their team. Maybe that player has been a dirty player against the home team. In this case, the fans will never forget that player. Some fans will remember that player and the specifics of that dirty play for decades… literally. They might not remember what food they had at their own wedding, but they can perfectly recount the violent penalty. Throughout that game the fans will “help” the referees make calls. But they tend to only help the referees make calls against the other team… sometimes when there is no foul. The home fans never call out a ref for missing penalties against the home team. But they will scorch him for missing a penalty against their rival. It is like the fans have two different sets of books. One is to keep track of the wrongs done to them, and the other is to keep track of the wrongs done to them. In other words, they only care about the wrongs done to them. In some events, like skating, you are judged primarily on how you messed up. Judges take away points for errors. This means they are keeping track of the participant's failures more than their successes. We often do the same thing. We judge people according to how they treat us. And frankly, none of us want others to do the same things with us. When describing and defining love to the early Christians, the apostle Paul said this, “Love keeps no record of wrongs.” (1 Corinthians 13:5) This is a tough one for many of us. Let me say that you can’t necessarily help what you remember. Some things are just more memorable. Other things you would like to forget are brought up by other people. So you may remember the things done to you by other people, but you can refuse to remember the bad things against other people. You may remember in your head because something brings it back, but you shouldn’t remember it in your heart because you are keeping a running list. Jesus was our example in this. Even as He hung on the cross, He asked His Father to not hold the sin of rejection and crucifixion against His enemies. Stephen, the first known martyr in the Church prayed the same prayer even as he was being stoned to death. In other words, we don’t get to choose what we will remember about someone, but we get to choose what we will remember against someone. This only happens by intention… not by accident. The enemy is working in our lives to help us make and maintain a list of wrongs. We must surrender to the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, to not keep track of what wrong others have done to us. This is forgiving. It is determining that God keeps better records than you do, and I’m sure you hope and believe that He is mercifully not keeping a record of every time you hurt Him. Let’s face it… God knows every time you have wronged Him, and He loves you anyway. He doesn’t love you less because you have a record this long (insert outstretched arms here.) Today you will have the opportunity to keep track of every wrong. Don’t do it. No one gets to the end of their life and wishes they had kept better track of hurt. Many wish they had loved more through the hurt. Put the pen and paper away and pick up love today. [Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.] Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry. ![]() Don’t you love it when someone gets on your last nerve? Some people know just the buttons to push that will send you over the edge. The longer you know someone, the better you know them, and the easier it is for them to figure out what will tick you off. Kids are great at needling someone until they just explode in a fit of anger. And of course there are some people who will fly off the handle at the drop of a hat… and they will drop the hat. Bees are easy to provoke. I remember when we were kids, a bee would enter the picture and we would start swatting or running. There would always be an adult who just stood there saying, “If you don’t mess with them, they won’t mess with you.” That sounds good, but it didn’t take me long to figure out it isn’t true, or there was a truth those old folks were missing. Throughout my life, I have been stung more by bees that I didn’t know were there than by bees with whom I was engaging in combat. In other words, I wasn’t messing with them, but they were still stinging me. And then at some point I figured out the other thing that those wise old sages did not know… If you are in a bee’s space, you are messing with it. In other words, bees are easily provoked. If you are running away, they will chase you down and sting you. If you are standing in their space minding your own business, they will sting you. It doesn’t take much to upset a bee. Some people are like bees. It doesn’t take much to provoke them. Others are more even keeled and take provocation in stride. To provoke is to “to arouse to a feeling or action; to incite to anger.” There are various forces that impact how easily we will be made angry. A person who is tired is often easily provoked. If a person just got some bad news, or if things are not going well for them, they may be hanging out right near the edge of the cliff of reaction. But the number one way to avoid being pushed over the edge is to be ruled by love. The apostle Paul was instructing the early Christians about the nature of love and he said this, “Love is not provoked.” (1 Corinthians 13:5) Another version says that love is not “easily provoked.” Either way, love doesn’t seem to have a last nerve. Love is not tested by gifts, kindness, and encouragement. It is tested when I am needled. I have a friend who when we were kids would sometimes come up to me and pulling on my ear say, “Am I ‘ear’itating you?” He would then tap my nose and inquire, “Am I too nosy?” Then he would pinch me and ask, “Am I getting on your nerves?” We can laugh at that, but it ain’t funny when people do that for real. How do you respond when someone gets you to that point? Do you lash out in anger? Or do you live out love? A provocation is an attempt to move you to feelings you do not want to have and actions you do not want to exhibit. So how can love withstand the temptation to go off on someone? Because love isn’t a feeling. Love is a choice. Love is not a nerve ending. It is a course. Love moves you. It is not moved by others. Today you will no doubt have someone in your life trying to get your goat. Will you react in anger or respond in love? Let love win the day. [Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.] Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry. ![]() One of the first expressions of brokenness in a person is selfishness. You put two cute babies in a room, and you give one a toy. At some point, the other will want to play with that toy. It is not uncommon for the first child to not share the toy with the other. In fact, it is expected that there will be a problem. The irony is that both children have had their needs cared for entirely by other people. All they have experienced in life is selflessness. But out of nowhere, they practice the ugly art of being selfish. They aren’t trained to be selfish. It just comes out. And that angelic face becomes twisted as they learn to say the word, “Mine!” So, the parent has to teach them how to act in community, which comes from the word ‘common.’ We all share this planet. And while some things will belong specifically to you, the sun does not revolve around you. The rest of the universe does not exist for you. You can place yourself at the center of the universe, but it will be a lonely place. Selfishness is not a desirable trait, even though we are all born with it, and revert back to it so frequently. Selfishness is defined as being ‘concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself : seeking or concentrating on one's own advantage, pleasure, or well-being without regard for others.’ Humans have this innate ability to make everything about us. God did not create us to seek out our own advantage, pleasure, or well-being without regard for others. Yet, that is exactly what caused the angel Lucifer to become the Devil. It is what caused Eve and Adam to become outcasts from God and paradise. Pride is at the core of selfishness. When we think we are the most important thing, we treat other like we are the most important thing. The apostle Paul knew this, and when he described love to the early Christians he said this, “Love is not selfish.” (1 Corinthians 13:5) A truer statement could not be made. If you look up the word Paul uses for love, you will find that it is the kind of love that God has for people. It is from the same word used in John 3:16 where we find these words about God, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son...” Love is marked by self-sacrifice. In fact, Paul’s phrase could be translated this way, “True love… the deepest love we know of, does not worship the one who is doing the loving.” While we have a natural tendency to seek after things for our self… to be selfish, when we are filled with the love of Christ, selfishness does not have a place in us. Today, there will be numerous opportunities to be selfish. Selfishness will be on display everywhere, from the parking lot, to the line at the grocery store, to the managing of the remote control, to the way we spend our time with our family. At each intersection with other people there will be an opportunity to live selfish or selfless. You will determine your paradigm. Will you make decisions with yourself at the center, or with others at the center? When Jesus was asked how we can gain eternal life, He replied, "Love God with everything you have. And love your neighbor as you love yourself." (Mark 12:30-31) If some of us would love others as much as we love ourselves... wow... that would be some serious love going around. Personally, I know that the times in my life when I lived without regard for others are the most hurtful moments I can remember. This is especially true of the times when I was selfish in those relationships that matter most to me. I can’t go back and be unselfish. Neither can you. But we can be selfless today. We can love today as Christ loved us, and gave Himself up for us. Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry. ![]() One of the phrases that has become more popular recently is, “That was inappropriate.” It is used to describe actions or words that were not acceptable, or at least not acceptable in the time they were shared. We live in a post-modern time. One of the things we have lost in our culture is appropriateness, or propriety… this sense that some things are right and should be done, and other things are wrong and should not be done. Back in the day, it was very unusual to find people acting improperly. Our grandparents were raised to act properly. There was a time when it was a shame to be inappropriate. Today, it may get you a TV show. When our culture believed in absolutes, we acted in such a way that was in keeping with what is right. Men acted like men, because that is proper. Women acted like women because that is what is proper and right. Today, men act like women, and women act like men. That is not proper. It is not right. Kids say curse words and adults laugh. People talk about sexual and other private things in public. This is inappropriate. One of the things that causes us to act right is loving like we are supposed to love. The apostle Paul, when describing true love to early Christians wrote, “Love does not act improperly.” (1 Corinthians 13:5) An older version says, “Love doth not behave itself unseemly.” Basically in the Greek, it means that love acts like it is supposed to. We want to be free spirits. We want to at however we want and everyone just accept that. We want to be inappropriate at times without having anyone judge us by a general standard. But love doesn’t act that way. I cannot be loving and inappropriate at the same time. You cannot cast off the standards of good behavior and love people at the same time. Some things are proper, and some things are not. When you tell an off-color joke, you are not showing love. You have cast aside love when you do something that crosses a line of acceptable behavior. You may not like it that there is a standard of acceptable behavior. Get in the growing line. Most people these days don’t. But there are standards for a reason. The common standards of decency and appropriateness are in place to protect people. They are boundaries that help to provide a pleasant and safe living environment. Some people avoid improper activities because they don’t want to get in trouble. Others do the proper thing because they love other people enough to not trespass over their sense of decency. We live in an ‘anything goes’ society. The problem is that we don’t live in an ‘anything goes’ universe. There are consequences for acting in an unseemly fashion. It hurts others, and it hurts the one misbehaving. Today you will have the choice to act in love or to show disregard for the reasonable expectations of others. You will have to choose between behaving or misbehaving, between acting properly and acting improperly, between being appropriate and being inappropriate, between saying things that are unbecoming a Christian and saying things that reflect a Christian standard. Let love rule and live like you are supposed to. Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry. |
AuthorMy name is David, and I want to know God more, and help other people find Him. Archives
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