Love - As Defined by the Christian Bible

Am I Christian? No. I denounced my faith in the Christian God two years ago when I was told by the pastor’s wife that God didn’t want me to divorce my abusive husband. However, I know that some of you who read this may be Christians, and if you’ve read any of my other stuff, I believe in peace and unity. So let me share one of my old sermons with you. While everyone is off preaching hate against anyone who believes, thinks and acts differently than them… Let me share with you a sermon of love….

1 Corinthians 13 New International Version (NIV)

13 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. - If you don’t speak out of love, then are you contributing anything helpful? Think about a gong being stuck repeatedly or cymbals clanging over and over again. At first, it might sound nice, even peaceful. But after a while it just gets annoying and you begin to get a headache.

2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. - If you speak fantastic truths or knowings just because you know them, if you believe in what you do with everything you have…. What’s the purpose if you don’t possess love? Why dedicate yourself to something like a career or a goal if you don’t absolutely love it? Why dedicate yourself to a person if you don’t love them? Why dedicate yourself to a faith if you don’t love it? You’re throwing yourself away.  

3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. - If you do something just so you can brag about it, then you are a fake person. It’s one thing to do something kind and share that to raise awareness; it’s a whole different matter to do the right thing for the wrong reasons. At this point, as a Christian, you are putting your ego higher than God. This is self-worship. Check yourself.

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. - Please keep this in mind, especially with the holidays coming up. This doesn’t just apply to those you know, this applies to the strangers you interact with everyday. These people are your co-workers, the cashiers, the servers and everyone else you see throughout the day. Please be respectful. Be loving and kind and understanding. We are all people. We make mistakes. Take a deep breath and calmly explain the issue. The problem will get resolved, I promise. Besides, we’re on this Earth for about a century, anyway. Will it matter if your coffee wasn’t made just right when you get to those pearly gates? Be patient.

6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. - This is an important one for the current state of things in the USA. Remember to always be honest - and you can be honest while remaining kind. Remember to protect those whom you see that need protecting, be trusting (you can be cautious, too; Always know how to defend yourself), have hope of a better tomorrow - a better future, and make your dreams and goals realities.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. - The ways of this world as we know it will eventually die out. We’re in a fork in the road, so the dying out can be good as it is good to prune a bush or tree, or it can be bad as in mass extinction. But when the fullness of the the path we are on comes to fruition, we will have a full understanding of the situation at hand. Hindsight is 20/20, as they say. But no matter the outcome, we will still have love. Whether that’s a healthy self-love, love for each other or love for any number of things, love always stands.

11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. - This is important for a lot of people who call themselves adults. I see a lot of adults acting like children: pushing, shoving, name-calling, tantrum throwing…. Are you actually adults? Take a step back to check in with yourself. Make sure you wouldn’t punish your kids for acting the way you are.

12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. - It is important to note that a mirror during the time that this was written would have been more like a dull, yet shiny metal plate. So the reflection was dull. This is when you are held accountable for your actions. Whether you are just joining your faith (if applicable), or you have strayed from the path you had intended to walk. You choose to be blind to your misactions. Be your own accountability partner. Or ask someone you trust to help keep you in check. Hatred, greed, discord, division, egoism.. That’s all taught as we grow up. It can be unlearned as bad habits can be unlearned. Sometimes we need help, and that’s ok. Know true potential for love and peace and unity fully.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. - Love conquers all. Christians, I am speaking to you now. Please, I implore you… If God is both love and your rock, and your foundation is supposed to be built on the rock rather than the sand… Please build your foundation on Love. For God is Love. God is the rock that you are supposed to build on. I see far too many people calling themselves Christians who lack the very foundation that they are supposed to be built on. I call those people Sunday Christians. Let your foundation be love. Please.

This is now directed at everyone. Please, be loving. Be kind. Be understanding. Be unifying. Be peaceful. Celebrate diversity. Love trumps hate. Love is always the answer!