The “LOVE TEST”

GOD’S LOVE

SELF-LOVE

1 )suffereth long (v.4)—sacrificing self to wait for God’s way and timing; is patient; has the divine power to wait; is long-fused; doesn’t retaliate even when it has the power; gives to others not what they deserve but what God gave

us!

1)  desires own way and own timing; suffers if can’t have its way now! Is impatient; resents any departure from own schedule; won’t wait for God to work; snaps at people. “I want it this way, and I want it now!” “I will teach him a lesson he won’t soon forget!”

2) is kind (v. 4)—sacrificing self to meet other’s needs; has a passion to be active and useful in the lives of others; is kind in words and deeds; does the unexpected, undeserved, and unrewarded.

2) is nasty and hurtful in words and deeds; acts in favor of “me” instead of others; always puts conditions on other’s love. “Why should I do that for them? They didn’t do it for me.” “Others? It’s all I can do to keep up with my wants and needs.”

3) envieth not (v.4)—sacrificing self to cheer for or weep with others; does not “boil, seethe, or stew”; is content with God’s control; doesn’t compare for the purpose of looking “down on” or “up to”.

3) envious; boils, seethes; laughs when others weep; weeps when others laugh; resents and wants what others have; wants to be what others are; is displeased by prosperity of others; judges others’ worthiness by comparing it with his own. “It’s not fair! I should have that.”

4) wanteth not itself, is not puffed up (v.4)—sacrificing self to remain small; doesn’t “parade to gain applause”; is not proud; points to God, not self; doesn’t brag or boast; doesn’t inflate self.

4) is proud; a “windbag”; praises self; will become anything so others will notice; brags; attempts to impress others; tries to appear to be what he is not; never admits he is wrong; is mad when others are too selfish to notice; points to what he’s accomplished. “Hey! Look at me!”

5) doth not behave itself unseemly (v.5)— sacrificing self by being a lady or a gentleman; doesn’t present the love of God in an ugly, misshapen way; is proper and courteous; does the right thing at the right time.

5) is rude, crude, boorish; draws attention to self by being loud, silly, moody, harsh, or having poor manners, inappropriate actions, words, timing; giving too much attention to fashion (fads) or appearance (flashy or dowdy). “I can’t help it. That’s just the way I am.” “I do what I want when I want to do it.”

6) seeketh not her own (v.6)—sacrificing self by not demanding rights; is not selfish; is a servant; gives; is not grasping for “my rights, my time, my money, my comfort, my things” (Romans 12:10; Philippians 2:3)

6) is selfish; rejects God’s way for own way; seeks to please self. “I demand my rights.” “I am right!” “I want my way!” “What I want is more important than what you want!” “It’s my____; I’ll do what I want with it.”

7) is not easily provoked (v.5)—sacrificing self to be calm; is not soon angry for its own causes; is not oversensitive and touchy. (Hebrews 10:24)

7) explodes; is an earthquake in the spirit; reacts in anger instead of acting in kindness; retaliates; is given to sudden outbursts; is angry for selfish reasons. “You can’t do that to me and get away with it”

(Proverbs 13:10)

8.) thinketh no evil (v.5)—sacrificing self by not keeping score; is not jealous; does not take permanent account of something for the purpose of bringing it back up; believes the best about a person; gives the benefit of the doubt; forgives

8.) uses “indelible ink”; builds a case for evil; enters wrongs into a ledger so that they can’t be forgotten; jealous; thinks evil; won’t forgive and go on. “I remember when he…” “You always/never do that.” “I know what kind of person he is.” “I know what he meant when he said/did that!”

9)rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth (v.6) —sacrificing self to love what God loves and hate what God hates; is excited to do the biblical thing; doesn’t take iniquity by the hand and escort it into some other area of life. “If God hates it, I’ll hate it; If God loves it, I’ll love it.”

9) rejoices in iniquity; entertains sin; escorts it right into his life; gets a thrill out of sin— his own or someone else’s. “It’s my life; I’ll do it if I want to. I’m strong enough to handle it.” “It’s my body; I deserve a little pleasure!” “Did you hear about what—did?”

10) beareth all things (v.7)—-sacrificing self to cover other’s weaknesses; covers, supports, protects; covers anything it can righteously cover; bear, not bares.

10) uncovers and exposes someone’s sin to other unnecessarily; bares, doesn’t bear sin. “I don’t mean to gossip, but…” “Did you hear about ____? She did a terrible thing! Don’t tell anyone but it’s a fact that….” “Well, my mom/dad has her/his faults too…!”

11) believeth all things (v.7)—sacrificing self to believe the best about God and others; puts the best about God and others; puts the best interpretation on events; believes in the best outcome; doesn’t look to condemn; looks to save, not to judge.

11) wants to judge; condemns; plays up the doubts; believes the worst; is cynical, suspicious. “I told you he was no good!” “I know what he’s thinking.” “I know why he did that!” “So what do you want from me this time?” “He said he would change once before, but…”

12) hopeth all things (v.7)—sacrificing self by not giving up; anticipates a good outcome when God’s truth wins out; hopes in every situation, against all evidence; confronts people with the truth in the hope that they will obey and change. As long as God’s grace operates. Failure is never final.

12) acts hopeless; talks hopeless; feels hopeless; gives up; quits praying; doesn’t trust God or allow His way. “He’s hopeless.” “Why try? He’ll never change!” “That’s just the way I am. I’ll never change!”

13) endureth all things (v.7)—sacrificing self by staying put when feeling like quitting; bears all things at all costs; digs a trench and stays put; stays when feels like running.

13) quits; “I’ve tried, but that was the straw that broke the camel’s back.” “I’m  not sticking my neck out there again so he can chop it off!” “I’ll cut and run while I still have some dignity.” “I can’t handle it anymore!” “You wouldn’t be able to handle it either if you were on my shoes!”

14) never faileth (v.8)—always accomplishes God’s work on earth and in heaven; is supernatural in its origin and its results.

14) always fails! (Galatians 6:7-9)—“He that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption.”