Day 4: Love Does Not Boast

I'll be thinking of the Love the Bible describes over these days preceding Valentine's Day.  I've decided to break the I Corinthians passage up into 14 pieces to concentrate on each day.

The first quality of Love is patience.  On Day 1, I learned that I lack much in this department and have a lot of work to do.

The second tenet is: Love is kind, or "love cares more for others than for self", as the Message puts.  As that day went by, I tried to focus on how I could put others' needs and interests before mine; how the world really wouldn't be destroyed if I waited and worried about someone else.

Yesterday, I ran around all day busy and didn't concentrate on any one piece of the Love passage.

Today, I'm making up by concentrating on two:  Love "does not envy, does not boast."  This is an interesting part of the verse here.  It points us directly back to that other good 'ol Corinthians gem that urges us not to compare amongst ourselves:  2 Corinthians 10:12 says, "We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise."  If we compare, we envy those whose talents or possessions exceed ours (there's always someone out there who can one-up you).  If we compare amongst ourselves, we boast when we outdo others.  That's why this important corollary follows the warning not to be jealous.

Interestingly, this is a passive kind of Love.  We're not directly doing anything to the person on the receiving end, but rather, we're not doing something which is very destructive to relationships.

If anyone needs this passage, it's me.  I'm pretty hard on myself, and often assess myself on a "relativity scale."  "Well, most people don't [insert something that I think is a big deal but is not really] like me!"  Or ... "Everyone here has done X and Y and has Z... I need to work on my life!"  The only One to judge my success and progress and those of others in the human experience is the Lord himself.  The only One.  

This is why those who excel at the art of Love don't envy and boast.

My best friend posted in her blog about the 1 Corinthians 13 passage the same day I did; she mentioned that one can work on these few verses for, oh... their entire life. 

How true.

I think that as these days pass, I'm no where near "mastering" Love; rather much as I'm learning where I stand in my walk towards True Love.  And I got a lotta work to do, folks.