The other day I was reading through 1 Corinthians and I came to chapter 13. I've read it probably a 100 times before, as I'm sure you've read or heard it tons too. It's the chapter about love. "Love is patient and kind..." etc. Well, I read verse 5 and something popped out to me that I've never really noticed before.
(4)"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant (5) or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful..." (ESV)
Love is not irritable. Whoa. I've never paid attention to that before. Love is not irritable.
I started to think that one through. So if I'm being irritable, I'm not being loving.
We have all been irritated. Someone cuts you off in traffic and you get irritated. Someone uses something of yours without asking, and you get irritated. Your neighbors are loud after 10 pm and you get irritated. Your spouse doesn't pick up their dirty socks and you get irritated. If you're a girl, you probably get irritated at least once a month for a couple days. We've all been irritated. It's normal, right?
The thing that struck me though, is that if I'm irritated, I'm not loving to those around me. It's simple and it makes sense, but I've never really thought about it before. We are irritated because we are not getting things our way, or the way we think they should be, or because someone disrupts our personal little world. It's about us, and we get bothered because we don't get our way.
Jesus commands us to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul & strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. So if love is not irritable, but I am being irritable, that means I am not loving, so in reality, I'm not obeying Jesus, therefore...sinning?
Some might say that is a bit extreme, but if you really think about it and break it down, that's what it boils down to. (And those who think it's extreme probably just think that because they don't want to be in the wrong, or be told they are sinning.)
Anytime I am not loving my neighbor, I'm walking in disobedience. Anytime I am irritable, I'm not loving, so I'm in disobedience. That's kind of a hard pill to swallow.
If you continue reading, chapter 14 begins with "Pursue love...". I looked up the Greek word used for pursue, and it means to go after eagerly, to go after in a hostile manner. We are supposed to actively go after love, to be aggressive about it (hostile manner). It doesn't just happen. We have to go after it. So I am to actively be patient, to go after kindness, to be intentional in not being rude or boastful or resentful, to intentionally not be irritable.
We have to choose to not let ourselves be irritable. We need to choose patience instead, to choose to extend grace, to choose joy in the circumstance...thus choosing love.
Choosing joy is way better than sitting in our irritability...making life lame for both us and those around us.
It's not always easy, and there will be moments of failure, but I invite you to join me to try to not entertain irritability. And when you catch yourself being irritable, be quick to repent, receive God's forgiveness for it, and choose to be loving. Receive his grace to handle the various things that come across your path. I think life will end up being much more enjoyable for everyone! :)
(4)"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant (5) or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful..." (ESV)
Love is not irritable. Whoa. I've never paid attention to that before. Love is not irritable.
I started to think that one through. So if I'm being irritable, I'm not being loving.
We have all been irritated. Someone cuts you off in traffic and you get irritated. Someone uses something of yours without asking, and you get irritated. Your neighbors are loud after 10 pm and you get irritated. Your spouse doesn't pick up their dirty socks and you get irritated. If you're a girl, you probably get irritated at least once a month for a couple days. We've all been irritated. It's normal, right?
The thing that struck me though, is that if I'm irritated, I'm not loving to those around me. It's simple and it makes sense, but I've never really thought about it before. We are irritated because we are not getting things our way, or the way we think they should be, or because someone disrupts our personal little world. It's about us, and we get bothered because we don't get our way.
Jesus commands us to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul & strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. So if love is not irritable, but I am being irritable, that means I am not loving, so in reality, I'm not obeying Jesus, therefore...sinning?
Some might say that is a bit extreme, but if you really think about it and break it down, that's what it boils down to. (And those who think it's extreme probably just think that because they don't want to be in the wrong, or be told they are sinning.)
Anytime I am not loving my neighbor, I'm walking in disobedience. Anytime I am irritable, I'm not loving, so I'm in disobedience. That's kind of a hard pill to swallow.
If you continue reading, chapter 14 begins with "Pursue love...". I looked up the Greek word used for pursue, and it means to go after eagerly, to go after in a hostile manner. We are supposed to actively go after love, to be aggressive about it (hostile manner). It doesn't just happen. We have to go after it. So I am to actively be patient, to go after kindness, to be intentional in not being rude or boastful or resentful, to intentionally not be irritable.
We have to choose to not let ourselves be irritable. We need to choose patience instead, to choose to extend grace, to choose joy in the circumstance...thus choosing love.
Choosing joy is way better than sitting in our irritability...making life lame for both us and those around us.
It's not always easy, and there will be moments of failure, but I invite you to join me to try to not entertain irritability. And when you catch yourself being irritable, be quick to repent, receive God's forgiveness for it, and choose to be loving. Receive his grace to handle the various things that come across your path. I think life will end up being much more enjoyable for everyone! :)
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