[Love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (NIV)

As someone who loves a list, the verses about love in 1 Corinthians really hit the spot for me – be patient, kind, don’t envy, don’t be proud, etc. Sounds straightforward and digestible enough to be recited at weddings…a lot. However, after peeling back some of the layers, I realized that Paul wasn’t trying to drop the most popular wedding verses of all time.  

‍

Throughout 1 Corinthians, Paul pulls no punches. He calls the church out for being immature, unspiritual, divided, having litigation among believers in pagan courts, and the list continues. How exactly does Paul get to this place talking about love while spitting fire?  

‍

Paul likely understood his audience had a lot of love already; the problem was that that love was misplaced. Instead of loving the things God loves, the church in Corinth found themselves loving the things that the world loves. In many ways, they loved the way that the world loves instead of how the Bible tells us to love. Paul knew that the culture had twisted the definition of love to the point that it bore a sexual connotation, almost exclusively, while excluding key aspects.

The Bible clashes sharply with the world’s definition of love. The world teaches us to turn our attention inward in our quest to love ourselves. Manifestations of this impulse come to the surface in many ways, but they all stem from the same poisonous root. The world teaches us to love ourselves first and foremost through our careers, relationships, money, and time. Left to our own devices, we become a tightly wound little ball of nerves, indignant that all of humankind hasn’t committed itself to our happiness. The Bible tells us to strive for more.  

Looking at my own life, it’s apparent when I’m being led by the world’s love and when I’m following God’s love. The world’s love transforms petty slights into enormous offenses that demand justice. The world’s love encourages me to pursue self-righteousness, because confessing I need a savior is too painful for a fragile ego. The world’s love makes me pursue my own well-being to the detriment of everyone, while God’s love sacrifices. The world teaches me to fixate on small things at the exclusion of all else, making those things my gods; God’s love urges me to step back and see myself and his people with an eternal perspective. The world’s love encourages me to preserve myself by giving up on loving people when the cost is too high. God’s love, in contrast, “always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres.”  

Finally, God’s love teaches me to protect. Note how Paul speaks with almost reckless forthrightness with the Corinthians about the things that are harming them. Instead of ignoring their mess and stepping over it, he boldly addresses them. Do you think everyone who heard this letter accepted his words and changed? Of course not. He doubtlessly made bitter enemies out of some of the very people he wanted to help.  

Very rarely can I protect anything or anyone without assuming personal risk. This whole love thing, the way the Bible teaches it, is far chancier than it sounds at first and involves significantly more sacrifice of ego, of immediate well-being, and of my perceived right to think only about myself. Love takes courage.

Father, give me the courage to love as you love. Give me the wisdom to see what the loving thing is to do in every situation and give me the strength to do it. Protect my mind from the warped love of the world and let your love be visible in me to others. Amen.