1 Corinthians 13.4 - 8
4Love is patient - To other drivers, to people behind tills. To the impatient woman in the front of the line, to the jerk with the angry dog. To your children who are asking for the same movie, for the 20th, or 200th time. To the family member who irritates you no matter what they say, and to the co-worker who thinks they can get away with murder.
love is kind. - To the disenfranchised and to the privledged, to the intelligent and the stupid alike. To the obese, the disabled, to the anorexics and to the cutters. Because there - but for the Grace of God, go us all...
It does not envy, - Because it has no reason to want. Love is aware that as long as basic needs are met, there is nothingelse needed. Love, is Wise. Love, thinks, even when others dont.
it does not boast, - Because Love knows that there is nothing that it can do, that someone cant do better. Love is aware.
it is not proud. - Love has nothing to be proud of. It washes feet, it cleans up after people. Itserves without shame, because only the greatest of us have the privledge of *serving*.
5It is not rude, - Love always wants others to have a good day. Even if it doesnt always *like* them. Love recognizes that thier smile may be the only nice thing that happens to a person in a day.
it is not self-seeking, - Love knows that the greatest feeling in the world truely comes from helping others, and that there is always time for yourself - later.
it is not easily angered,- What point is there in getting angry? You cannot change what has happened, all you can do is move on. Bitterness and grudge holding only damage the person holding them.
it keeps no record of wrongs. - Why bring up the past? Every moment of your life is another moment to start over new.
6Love does not delight in evil - If I have to explain this.. oh I forgot, I really do. Evil is anything that hurts another person. *Anything*. Or perhaps, what I have to explain, is "not delighting" in it. This means, not only do aviod *doing* the evil yourself, but you make sure that your reaction to what others do - *doesnt*hurt* them* either. Cry for them, pray for them, but dont throw it back at them.
but rejoices with the truth. - The Truth really does set people free. But its not your job to throw that in a persons face either. Just be happy when you see it.
7It always protects, - Everything around you is a sacred trust. If you are not evious, and do not boast, then you know that none of it is really yours, to begin with. So you protect the people, even the ones you dont like. You protect the earth, because it is our home. You protect animals, because God asks us too. But - remember, nothing is yours... its just in your trust. If someone comes to take it from you - then you give it. Youve lost nothing.
always trusts, - Love is wise, not stupid. I trust people, and things, as far as they will let me. But trusting dental floss as rope, is stupid. God gave us brains for a reason.
always hopes, - Hope does not negate action, but goes hand in hand with it. If Im hoping for a job, I go out and look for one. If Im hoping for a million dollers, I go out and find a way to work for it. God is not Santa Clause. I always hope though, that the people around me will see truth, and recognize it. But screaming at them as to what truth is?... well again lets not hit the stupid.
always perseveres. - Love doesnt really give up. It isnt a crush, that will fade. It isnt lust, that is selfish. It isnt a whim, that will pass. Love is an active choice you make every morning. You get up after a crappy nights sleep because the body next to you snored load enough to wake people in Seattle, and you *choose* to love the mook anyways. The child that wakes screaming every morning - you cuddle untill they quiet - every morning, because you *choose* to. And the more often you choose it, the deeper and more real it becomes. Love however, is never perfect - because its a continuing practice, not something we can conquer.
8Love never fails. - Because it isnt based on anything here. Its not based on a mood, on an object, or on a person. Love - may not always be understood, may be displayed in countless fashions. But it never fails, when its *there* - and that, is an individual choice.
God is Love. And in the end, all God asks is that we love Him, and the people we encounter, every day.
He doesnt ask that we agree with them, like them, or even respect them. He doesnt ask that they behave to our own personal code of conduct. He simply asks that we love them. Unconditionally, unexceptionally.
And if you cant do that...
If you cannot show love to - the liberals, the democrats, the communists, the hippies, the gays, the straights, the ugly and the beautiful, the young, the old, the intelligent, and the stupid...
Then you do not know God.
And sadly - He doesnt know you either.
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