Is love your number one goal? We live in a world today where people believe it’s OK to say whatever you want to because it’s true. It’s a free country, and you certainly have that right to, but how you say it and your motive behind it could be more harmful for you and them than you realize. So, let’s just get to the nitty gritty.
Jesus wasn’t a pushover. We like to use the term, “I have my truth.” Well, Jesus had His because He literally was the truth. And even in the things He said to the Pharisees that may make us blush in embarrassment for them, were said out of love for them. Jesus felt nothing but love for people, and no matter how aggressive His speech had to be to get that point across, He did and said everything out of love.
So, what’s my point? Do we do what we do or say what we say out of love? Or are we more motivated by the opportunity to correct someone? Or maybe the opportunity to just be right? And for some, even the opportunity to just call people out?
Here’s the bottom line.
If love wasn’t your goal, you were wrong. When you said what you said, was it because you loved them? When you did what you did, was it because you loved them? If it wasn’t, you were wrong. And no matter how true it may have been, if you didn’t say it as an expression of love in leading someone to Christ, you were wrong. See, no matter what, if you spoke the truth in selfishness, comparison, and pride, you didn’t speak it in love. And that’s wrong.
If love wasn’t your motive, then you may have made a mess.
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. (1 Cor. 13:4,5).
1 Corinthians 14:1 Let love be your highest goal…