This week, I would like to continue looking at what the different aspects of love look like in real life. This post is mostly my opinions based on observations from my life. We left off with “Love is not self-seeking.” Let’s continue with -
Love is not easily angered. Why do we get angry? Oftentimes it is because of unmet expectations. My husband used to say that sometimes our expectations are not met because we failed to give the other person the script of what we expected. Sometimes we think others can read our minds and know what we want or how we want things done. They can’t. So, if this is one of the reasons you get angry, you may want to work on your communication skills.
On occasion, we get angry as a defensive mechanism or because people believe differently than we do. Another piece of wisdom from my husband was, “If we truly give others the right to their own opinion, there would be a lot less conflict between people.” I used to think that I was always right and knew what was best for myself as well as everyone else. Imagine that! Then one day, my husband said, “Who do you think you are? God, that you would know what is best for everyone else?" I had to rethink my position and I realized that I could never have all the information I would need to make decisions for anyone else. As a result of John’s guidance through the years, I hardly ever get angry anymore. God has healed many of the wounded parts of me that would encourage me to get angry. Praise the Lord!
Love keeps no record of wrongs. I think this one is very important because it relates to your thoughts and beliefs about others which in turn affects how you relate to them. Those thoughts and beliefs will create your perception of that person and your perceptions are your realities. For example, if you have positive thoughts about someone, you are always looking for the good in that person and if that person offends you, you will think that it was not intentional. If you have negative thoughts about someone, you will be sensitized to any perceived offense toward you and you will think that they hurt you intentionally. If we keep a record of wrongs done to us, we will set ourselves up for unpleasant relationships. God wants the best for us, and He knows that if we forgive others and don’t hold grudges, we will be better able to live at peace with others. (Note: I realize that some relationships can be toxic. If that is the case, we still need to forgive, but we do not necessarily need to engage in the relationship).
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. I think this part refers to gossip. If we delight in sharing something about another person that is not beneficial, or we heard about it, but don’t know the truth of the matter, we are gossiping.
Ephesians 4:29 gives us some insight on this topic.” 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen”. If we love, we share only those things that are uplifting and encouraging to another.
Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. If you have ever been the recipient of Godly love, you know how it made you feel: You are special; you are encouraged; you are valued; you are validated just as you are. As a result, you wanted to be the best version of you that you could be. You wanted to share that love with others. Little by little, you were empowered to love others as you have been loved.
This concludes my series on "What's Love Got to do with it? I hope that it has been an encouragement to you to be able to better understand God's immeasurable love for you, how He exhibits this through the people in your lives, and how you can walk in His love to be a blessing to others as well as to yourselves. I will close with this scripture:
Ephesians 5:1-2 “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
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