Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoings, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. (1 Corinthians 13: 4-8)
Once again, I return to love. So many things can happen in life to make one feel like love doesn't exist; I know I have felt that many times in my past. This cannot happen, no one acts like this! I know that there is times in my past that I have thought that I had found love, but I obviously hadn't; it ended. Previously, when I spoke of love in my blog in February, I just stated what it was and that I had never really felt it before. What I didn't do was state what it means to act like that or to find it. I also didn't go into much other detail. Because of this, I will do it now. I feel that, to really understand love (an impossible task without God), it must not be rationalized, but rather felt.
Is Patient and Kind - When I was a child, I was a patient and kind individual. As time progressed, I became more impatient and less kind. With every "love" I thought I had, I realized that patients was never involved. It was alway "right now." It was never about kindness, it was about what the other could get, what I could get. Love is patient and kind; that means that every time I get impatient with my parent I wasn't showing them love, I wasn't being kind. They have always been patient with me, why did I treat them that way? Disregarding rationalizations, I was not showing love to my parents; I was dishonoring them and God.
Does Not Envy and Boast - If love doesn't envy and doesn't boast, then I'm really bad at this. I am competitive; thus, I envy. I am competitive; thus, I boast. I'm all around bad at this, if I am competitive with my family and friends, how can I ever find love that is truly love? I was competitive with my parents - that isn't good at all. I couldn't even show true love to my family.
Is Not Arrogant or Rude - This one I think that I have a handle on; still, lets discuss it. Arrogance and rudeness, two things that most everyone stays away from as they cannot stand people that are such. To be arrogant, to feel you are better than everyone else would cause someone to be rude to others. Because of that, I can see why the Bible put them together. When arrogance steps into your life, you put yourself first and God last. To be rude is to not be kind.
Does Not Insist on Its Own Way -In many ways, this relates to being arrogant and rude; however, it means that you should be willing to give up everything for it. Your way wouldn't be to give everything up that you possess, so that is what you might have to do. It should never be all about you; if it is, it isn't love.
Not Irritable or Resentful - With the exception of "the time of the month" or pregnant woman, the irritable thing should be upheld. However, the resentful thing should always be upheld. I've noticed in life that when someone has to change to be with you, or if they change because that is what they think you want, that is when people start to resent others and become irritable with them. When one isn't patient, one becomes irritable. Thus, one should be patient with others, something we already know, and one shouldn't force others to change, goes along with not insisting on your way too. Even if you don't force change, someone can resent the other for changing them. For instance, if you change for fear of losing them, if you change for fear of anything, it will cause resentment. This is just something that I have noticed, and something I have been on both sides of.
Rejoices in The Truth - No lie, even a white lie, is rejoiced in love. If I look fat in this dress, TELL ME!!! If you tell a white lie to "not get yelled at" and then someone else tells me I look fat, I would be upset with you for not telling me the truth. So, while you might get scorned woman will appreciate it later. In other ways, always tell the truth, even when you fear the consequences. Something my mother always told me was "if you tell me the truth it doesn't guarantee that you won't be punished, it just means that it will be less punishment than if I found that you lied about it." This is a very good thought to live by, so go Mom! When one lies to others, even once, trust is lost. When trust is lost, even a little bit, you won't get it back. Even if you live by the "forgive and forget" model, God didn't let us forget our past, our wrongs are still in our mind to remind us we need Him. Because of this, the wrongs done, though we shouldn't through them in our loved ones faces, will always be there.
Bears all Things -This is a "just in case you fail at everything above" thought. Forgive always. It will go through any hurt, any torment, and pain. If it is true love, it will happen.
Believes all Things -If you always tell the truth, easily done!!! If you lie, then this is saying that you believe that they will not lie again. This is, in many ways, against human nature, but it what would need to happen to keep the love alive. Then again, if it dies, it really isn't love now is it?
Hopes all Things -Always strive for the best with the one you love. You can hope for the best in all that you do, you can help each other achieve the best.
Endures all Things -Like I said above, love endures all the pain, the torment, the drama. It stays true and will remain when times are hard, even when they seem impossible. God should always be the most important things in love, when He is your number one, anything can be endured.
Never Ends -With every relationship in your past that failed, that you said to yourself " this is love", you were wrong. Many people say that "they never forget their first love," when really, you never forget your first lust, your first hurt, your first kiss, your first happy feeling. That is what you don't forget, but if you really loved your "first love" you'd still be with them. Just sayin'. After its over, many try to go back, they aren't going back to love, they are going back to comfort. Thus, the love you thought you had wasn't there. I think I might get attacked for this, but you can only truly, truly love when it doesn't die.
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