“What Love Really Looks Like!” #2
Text:
1 Corinthians 13
“Love
Is Kind and Is Not Jealous!” - vs. 4
Love is kind and for all the right reasons!
The cultural definition of love is vague at best,
watered down, these days it's just a word used loosely, typically to
get an advantage or a desired outcome! But that true biblical “agape” love is given,
expressed, lived out for all the right reasons not for selfish
desires!
- In each blog I want to view the particular picture
of love in the scenarios, Spiritually, Specifically, and Socially! -
First though, lets do a word study
on the two defining term used in this text, the positive, kind and
the negative, jealous!
- The greek word for kind is chresteuomai
(Khraste-yoo'-om-ahee) -
* Defined – to show one's self mild, to be kind, use
kindness *
* This word comes from the root word – chrestos
(Khrase-tos') which is defined –
1.) fit, fit for use, useful
a) virtuous, good
2.) manageable
a.) mild, pleasant (as opposed to harsh, hard sharp,
bitter)
b.) of things: more pleasant, of people, kind,
benevolent
*** This is the only time this word is used in the greek
manuscript but it's root word (chrestos (Khrase-tos')) is used seven
times and translated twice as kind,
once as easy, better,
goodness, good,
and gracious. ***
In the negative, love is not jealous
- The greek word here for jealous is zeloo (dzay-lo'-o)
-
Defined – 1.) to burn with zeal
a.) to be heated or to boil with envy,
hatred, anger
b.) To desire earnestly,
pursue, to envy
- This greek word is used in the negative three other
times in the new testament -
Let's see how it's used and translated
1.) It's used in Acts 7:9 when describing the heinous
actions of Joseph's brother's selling him into slavery!
And
the patriarchs, moved with envy,
sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,
2.) The second is in Acts 17:5 in
describing the evil intent of the jews in causing an uproar in
response to the preaching of the Gospel!
But
the Jews which believed not, moved with envy,
took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a
company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house
of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.
3.) The last is used by James in chapter 4 verse 2 of
his epistle in the explanation of where strife, arguments, and war
come from!
Ye
lust, and have not: ye kill, and
desire to have,
and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask
not.
So from this we can paint a vivd picture of what love
looks like, it's useful, fit, kind, benevolent, mild, not showy,
manageable, virtuous , good, pleasant, and it's all these things
intended with the right motive which IS NOT selfish in it's intent! Love is not envious, heated with selfish passion,
angry(used in vengeance or retaliation), or given with ill motive!
- Once again, love is kind and it's so for all the right
reasons! -
What
does this look like?
1.) Specifically
* Person to Person Relationships, spouses, friends,
siblings, etc. *
David towards Saul
David towards Saul
1 Samuel 24
1 And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from
following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold,
David is in the wilderness of Engedi.
2
Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all
Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild
goats.
3 And he came to the
sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover
his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave.
4 And the men of David
said unto him, Behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee,
Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest
do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut
off the skirt of Saul's robe privily.
6 And he said unto his
men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the
Lord's anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is
the anointed of the Lord.
7 So David stayed his
servants with these words, and suffered them not to rise against
Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way.
8 David also arose
afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My
lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with
his face to the earth, and bowed himself.
9 And David said to
Saul, Wherefore hearest thou men's words, saying, Behold, David
seeketh thy hurt?
10 Behold, this day
thine eyes have seen how that the Lord had delivered thee to day into
mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye
spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my
lord; for he is the Lord's anointed.
11 Moreover, my father,
see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off
the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that
there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not
sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it.
12 The Lord judge
between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee: but mine hand
shall not be upon thee.
13 As saith the proverb
of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand
shall not be upon thee.
14 After whom is the
king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead
dog, after a flea.
15 The Lord therefore
be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause,
and deliver me out of thine hand.
16 And it came to pass,
when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that
Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his
voice, and wept.
17 And he said to
David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me
good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil.
18 And thou hast shewed
this day how that thou hast dealt well with me: forasmuch as when the
Lord had delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not.
19 For if a man find
his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the Lordreward
thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day.
20 And now, behold, I
know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of
Israel shall be established in thine hand.
21 Swear now therefore
unto me by the Lord, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and
that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father's house.
David spares Saul's life again in 1 Samuel 26. David is anointed and declared king yet in love for God and Saul he waited his turn! Love deems integrity, conscience, and goodness higher than position or title! David NEVER treats Saul with disrespect, and NEVER
betrays him. He even weeps bitterly at the word of his death! Love waits it's turn! He keeps his covenant he made with Saul and brings
mephibosheth( Saul's crippled son) into the palace and blesses him! 2
Samuel 9
2.) Socially
* Individual to Society, to Individuals with which we
don't have a “personal” bond. *
- We see this played out in the story of the good
samaritan! -
Here's a story of a man who lived in a society that
was structured in a way that he received institutional racism at it's
highest level! He and his people were considered half-breed, tainted,
“less-than” humans! The Jews had absolutely NO interactions with the samaritan! It's entertaining how Christ uses someone the pharisees despised to show them what real neighborly love looks like! He would have been shunned, mocked, and abused and YET he loved kindly, and without envy to be who he
was not! And he acted this way towards a man who, in a
different situation, would have ignored his very existence! Love asks the right question, not "who is my neighbor?" but "who can I be neighborly to?"
Luke 10:25-37King James Version (KJV)
25 And,
behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master,
what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26
He said unto him, What is written in the law? how
readest thou? 27
And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. 28
And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right:
this do, and thou shalt live. 29
But he, willing to justify himself, said unto
Jesus, And who is my neighbour? 30
And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down
from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him
of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 And
by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw
him, he passed by on the other side. 32
And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place,
came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. 33
But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came
where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 34
And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring
in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an
inn, and took care of him. 35
And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two
pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of
him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will
repay thee. 36
Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was
neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? 37
And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said
Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
** How well do we fair in this scenario? **
3.) Spiritually
* God to Man and Man to God! *
- Spiritually is the most important as it's correct
position will produce the first two! -
- Man to God -
We see this in the attitude of John the Beloved! He
was always close to Christ, he loved him unto the end and went ALL
the way to the cross, and never asked to have what the other
disciples have (like Peter who asked about John, or the Sons of
Thunder who asked to sit on each side of the throne). His motive for devotion and love towards Christ was always pure!
- God to Man -
We know God is kind, we know that the scriptures say
that God is love, but we also know the scriptures testify that God is
jealous? How is this reconciled when the scriptures here in 1
Corinthians 13 tells us that Love is kind and IS NOT jealous? There are three words translated as Jealous in the
OT. One is used only of God and it speaks of Zealousness not envy! To
be zealous means
fervor
for a person, cause, or object; eager desire or endeavor;enthusiastic
diligence; ardor.
The one time jealousy is used in a seemingly positive
way in the new testament is in 2 Corinthians when Paul describes his
love for the people at Corinth. He says....
2 Corinthians 11:2King James Version (KJV)
2 For
I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to
one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
- The greek word used here for “Godly jealousy” is
zelos(dzay'-los) which means to have excitement of mind, ardour,
fervour of spirit. Zeal, ardour in embracing, pursuing, defending. -
So here we see the difference that may get lost in
translation into our English language. God is not jealous in that he
is envious but zealous! We are his creation, bought with a price,
loved and sacrificed for by him! Would his nature and character let
him be anything other than fervently committed to us in a zealous
fashion? The greatest act of love being kind and not envious is
Christ on the Cross! You'll see that this will probably be the
recurring theme for each love described week in and week out for God
towards man! God was so kind and merciful and gracious toward us
that he gave his very life to save us! He wasn't envious of who we were or what we had! He
didn't become flesh because he wanted to be like us but because he
wanted us to become like him! He didn't want what we had, he wanted us to have what
he had!
** WHAT A LOVE **
In Closing:
* We must take these pictures of a patient love &
put them into action and produce them in our own personal lives. *
- Specifically, Socially, & Spiritually -
- Do we love kindly? Do we love correctly and for all
the right reasons? -
- Is the love that we produce a love that we can be
content with? -
The Excellence of Love
1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part; 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. 13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
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