Preacher: Jeremy Herbert
Theme: Love is not irritable or resentful
Text: 1 Corinthians 13:5
Notes:
The descriptions of love in 1 Corinthians describe the character of Christ.
Proverbs 22:1, “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches”
Irritable
- Paul’s primary concern in this verse is that love is not irritable with people
- However, when we are irritated with circumstances, we are often irritated with God himself
- Love chooses not to be angered, annoyed, or exasperated with others
- Paul himself was not immune to this temptation, nor was his partner in ministry, Barnabas:
- Acts 15, “the contention was so sharp that they parted from one another”
- Why do we get irritated?
- Our values are distorted by sin
- We value our time and energy more than we value people
- We would love to get our way more than we love others
- We view others as obstacles to happiness rather than agents to push us toward holiness
- Those who irritate us help us to see our own weaknesses
Resentful
- Irritation(s) over a period of time fester into resentment
- The biblical language is rooted in accounting/recording wrongs in a ledger
- “Love keeps no record of wrongs”
- Love does not ‘forgive and forget’–it remembers, and still forgives
- Chrysostom, love quenches wrongs rather than recording them
How do we respond when we get irritated or resentful?
- Angry looks
- Angry words
- Poisoned courtesy
- Silent treatment
- Sulking
- Withdrawing
God uses people and circumstances to grow us into Christlikeness
Real joy is circumstance-independent
How do we address this in our own heart?
- What do I really want?
- Philippians 2:1-4
- Galatians 5:26
- 1 Corinthians 13:7-8
- No matter how difficult circumstances and people are, love persists
- People are not obstacles
- 1 Corinthians 13:13-14:1, “the greatest of these is love…pursue love”
- We are most like our Savior when we love
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
