Love does not vaunt itself.
Love does not promote oneself; it promotes others.
Love does not draw attention to oneself.
Love does not seek the applause of man.
Love does not desire the admiration of the crowds.
Love does not need others to see how well-educated, brilliant, or wise you are.
Love does not seek to be a great orator to dazzle people with the power of one’s speech.
LOVE IS NOT PUFFED UP
Love dies to oneself rather than increasing oneself with pride and self-fame.
Paul speaks about being puffed up in 1 Corinthians 4:6 (NET): “So that none of you will be puffed up in favor of the one against the other.” Sadly verses 18 and 19 say: “Now some of you are puffed up, as though I would not come to you. But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power.” Paul is saying that there were people amongst them that were favoring some and not others. They were respecters of persons.
Acts 10:34 says: “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.”
James 2:1: “My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.”
1 Corinthians 5:2: “Ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this dead might be taken away from among you.”
The Corinthians church were allowing fornication of a very serious nature to remain in the church. This type of sin is being committed all over our modern-day Christian church and yet they allow it in the name of love. We lovingly tolerate the things God abhors. We are puffed up with false love for we allow people to continue in sin who do things God hates. God’s love deals with sin and applies the necessary discipline.
We think we should not judge sin in the church on the basis of “Judge not that ye be not judged” (Matthew 7:1). This is not talking about not dealing with sin in the church, but rather to not be a critical person who is always looking for faults in others.
1 Corinthians 6:3 says: “Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?”
To be continued.
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell