“Love Never Fails”—Do You?
WHAT is love? The world over, there are proverbs that highlight the value of true love. A Zulu proverb says, “Love does not choose the blade of grass on which it falls.” In the Philippines people say, “Love is the salt of life.” A Lebanese proverb states, “Love overlooks defects and hatred magnifies shortcomings.” Similar is the Irish saying, “Love conceals ugliness.” The Welsh say, “Love is stronger than a giant.” The Norwegians say, “That which is loved is always beautiful.” An English person might say, “A pennyweight of love is worth a pound of law.” In Spain, there is a saying, “True love lasts until death.”
Without a doubt, true love is appreciated wherever we go. The love that can make a real difference in life is that described by the Bible writer Paul: “Love is long-suffering and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, does not get puffed up, does not behave indecently, does not look for its own interests, does not become provoked. It does not keep account of the injury. It does not rejoice over unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”—1 Corinthians 13:4-8.
Yes, “love never fails.” Love heals. Love unites. Love is shown not just by words but by unselfish actions. Love has a pure motive. Thus, Paul also wrote: “If I give all my belongings to feed others, and if I hand over my body, that I may boast, but do not have love, I am not profited at all.” If we make sacrifices or give gifts just to be seen by others, then from God’s viewpoint it is in vain.—1 Corinthians 13:3.
Jesus put it this way: “When you go making gifts of mercy, do not blow a trumpet ahead of you, just as the hypocrites do . . . that they may be glorified by men. Truly I say to you, They are having their reward in full. But you, when making gifts of mercy, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing.” Yes, love does not boast or brag.—Matthew 6:2, 3.
Love without hypocrisy does not seek personal advantage. True love makes a person refreshing to be around. (Matthew 11:28-30) The following anonymous quotation may make us think about the kind of love we have for others: “Righteousness without love makes us hard. Faith without love makes us fanatical. Power without love makes us brutal. Duty without love makes us peevish. Orderliness without love makes us petty.”
People who live only for rules can fall into the trap of being loveless. How upbuilding all of us can be if we live by Paul’s counsel: “Clothe yourselves with the tender affections of compassion, kindness, lowliness of mind, mildness, and long-suffering. Continue putting up with one another and forgiving one another freely if anyone has a cause for complaint against another. Even as Jehovah freely forgave you, so do you also. But, besides all these things, clothe yourselves with love, for it is a perfect bond of union.”—Colossians 3:12-14.
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True Christians practice love as Jesus taught it