Without Love

I would guess that you who are at least somewhat acquainted with the Bible have a decent idea of where I would have found that title. 1 Corinthians 13 starts with the warning that, no matter how spiritually gifted you may be, without love you're nothing. You might know this because a part of this chapter is popular even in the secular world for warm-feeling wall hangings and for weddings. (They can get by with that because it mentions "love" but not "God," so it's okay.) The text is written in between chapter 12 on how spiritual gifts are given "for the common good" (1 Cor 12:7) so we can work together as the Body of Christ and chapter 14 on how we shouldn't misuse spiritual gifts. Thus, this "love chapter" is written around the gifts, but it's not limited to the gifts.

According to Paul, it is possible to take good things to far places ... and be of no use. You can take the miraculous gift of tongues and end up "a noisy gong" (1 Cor 13:1) or give away all you have and "gain nothing" (1 Cor 13:3). Paul says here that without love all the good -- even the miraculous good -- in the world will be useless ... at best. Potentially offensive or, even damaging.

When I say it, I bet you can see it. Like the "well-meaning" church lady that is swift to tell the young woman, "It's a sin to wear men's clothes" and alienates the young woman. It is biblically a sin (Deut 22:5) but the motivation isn't love; it's "righteous indignation" (an oxymoron when "righteous" actually has nothing to do with "indignation"). It is abundantly clear that Scripture holds homosexual behavior as a sin (Rom 1:26-27; 1 Cor 6:9-10), but pointing that out without love does more harm than good. Or a purely biblical example. Peter says we need to always be "prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you" (1 Peter 3:15), so many of us gear up for battle (we call it "Apologetics"), but if we do it without love, we will fail to complete the command: "yet do it with gentleness and respect."

Jesus said that the fundamental command is love. Love God and love your neighbor. Keeping that command satisfies the law. Failing to imbue all we do with love makes us pointless and possibly even wrong, even when we're right. We should test ourselves. Not just "Am I standing on what's right?", but also "Am I doing it in love?" Without love, we are nothing. Nothing as witnesses for Christ. Nothing as spouses and parents. Nothing as members of the Body of Christ. Don't be nothing.