Love and Respect

Reality has finally hit me. We live in a sin-cursed world where even "Christians" fall prey to the devil's lies. One of the lies Satan tells us is "I need to have sex with my boyfriend in order to prove that I love him." FALSE! Oh, if this world only knew what love really was. Love is an action, not a feeling. Love and respect go hand in hand. You cannot have love without respect.

I Corinthians 13:4-8a (ESV)
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 in wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

I'm going to pick this passage apart phrase by phrase and prove how Satan's lie does not line up with what God teaches about Biblical love.

"Love is patient and kind"- This is a new concept in today's world. Today people want things now including sexual pleasure. However, love will wait. Love is not going to say "if you love me, have sex with me now." Love is going to say "I love you, so I am going to respect your purity and wait until the day we are married to have intercourse." In showing patience, one also needs to show kindness. Kindness is gentle; love is not going to insist on being rough and physical before the marriage night. Kindness says "I am going to gently and sweetly love you from this day on and wait til the right time to be physical."

"Love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude"- Love is not going to be envious of married people and wish for the blessings of marriage without the attachment. Love is not going to be lust after the other person's body and wish to have that desire now. It is not envious; it will be patient. Love does not boast. Love equates humility! Love desires the significant other's good before their own. Is it good for a 16 year-old to get pregnant before she's married? NO!!!!! How boastful to think one's desires are above the others! Love promotes the other and casts down selfishness.

"Love does not insist on its own way"-well, same as above. Love is going to let the other's feeling/ convictions come before his/her own. If one has the desire to remain physically, spiritually, and emotionally pure, the significant other should respect that wish and do everything in his/her power to make sure that that desire will be fulfilled. Too many good Godly girls have been ruined by selfish guys who "insist on their own way;" this is not love.

"Love does not rejoice in wrong doing"-When something does happen, and a couple does fall into sin, it is wrong to boast of that sin. It is sorrowful and hates the fact that each person's purity has been defiled. It does not rejoice and brag to others about what they have done.

"Love rejoices in the truth"-Love rejoices in God's love for us. We do not look to the lies of Satan to fulfill us; we rest in the truth of scripture. "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the hope comes, it is a tree of life." I'm not going to lie; the desire to have sex and be physical with your significant other is strong and having to wait can be a struggle, but what does the rest of the verse say? When that desire does come (after marriage), it is more wonderful that if it was done before marriage. That is the joy of rejoicing in truth: "marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled, but whoremongers and adulterers, God will judge."

"Love bears...hopes...endures all things"- Love says "no matter what happens, I will be here to help. When our relationship gets tough and it's hard to stay pure, we will persevere and wait til that day when we can rejoice in each other." Love is going to bear the hardships of relationships- financial, spiritual, economic, physical, etc. True love is going to persevere and say "I will always love you, no matter what."

"Love never ends"- it's as simple as that. True love will not end. It will keep going. Love will keep being patient, kind, humble, joyful in truth, and steadfast. True love will never quit when the going gets tough.

Of course, I know that our love is not at all close to God's love for us, but we sure can rejoice in knowing that God's love is exactly like this. As Christians, we are to imitate God's love for us and reflect that in the way we love our significant other. "Love will always do what is best for the object loved." -Mr. Trainer