If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:1-2
Do you know people who are "know-it-alls?" These are people who seem to have all the answers about everything under the sun. They are not very pleasant to be around, are they? They are a lot like people who speak only the truth without grace. They may be "right," but their approach lacks kindness and ultimately love. After all, when we truly love others, everything we do, even when speaking hard truths, is saturated in God's love.
The Apostle Paul wrote about the meaningless of our actions if they are not done in love in 1 Corinthians 13. He wrote, "If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn't love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal" (verse 1). He then explains that if he had the gifts of prophecy, knowledge, and faith but did not have love, he would be "nothing" (verse 3). Pause here. These are strong statements from Paul! After all, prophecy, knowledge, and faith are essential, but without love, they are nothing. He continued by saying that if he gave away everything he had to those in need, but did not have love, he would have "gained nothing" (verse 3). Most of us would say that giving everything to those who are poor is a very noble deed. Yet, if it is not done in love, it is meaningless.
The Scripture we studied today is sobering. We can do so many great things with our lives, but if we do not have love, those things will not mean anything. We can have all of the answers. We can speak the truth. If our words are not spoken in love, however, they will lose their meaning. If we speak and act in love in all we do, however, our words and actions will have a significant impact for Christ and point others to Him. So, will you live up to this calling to speak and act in love?
Take some time now to make a list of what it looks like to show love in all that you do. What would your interactions be like? What would your daily rhythm look like? After making this list, commit to living in this manner where all that you do is done in love. Ask God to help you as you seek to be someone who spreads His love and truth to everyone around you.
1If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10 But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.
11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
