Love, It is Not Puffed Up

A note about the title: It is apart of I Corinthinas 13 verse 4 is "... love does not parade itself, is not puffed up"

Two scriptures to keep in mind: I Corinthians 4:1-21 (emphasis on verses 6-8 and 16-21) and John 13:1-20 (emphasis on verses 12-17)

We all have recieved what we have now. Rather we "worked for it" or not, it is a gift. The time we have, the clothes we have, the job, the car, the money, the house, the dog, the cat, the kids, the spouse, etc. It's all a gift. Life, as precious as it is, is a gift. Yes, a gift from God indeed. So, why is it that we get "puffed up" about what we have? The abilities/talents we have? What makes it any different from the talents/abilities of others? I mean seriously-- I know we all have different talents and abilities but they are (all) suppose to be for the edification of the Body of Christ, right?! Jesus even said to follow His example, in John 13. Let me talk about that story for a second okay?!

He reached out to the dirty... did you know that? I mean other than mentally knowing that, do you really know it? Well He did. He took time to disciple His disciples and He reached out to the dirty. Could you imagine dirty feet smell? Gross. Sorry, but gross. No one wants to smell feet, right? Okay, atleast I don't. Anyway, Jesus went low and washed their feet and dried them too. A couple of nights ago, my feet were dirty because I had sandals on and I had been walking through the sand/dirt with them on. So, you see when Jesus did that He was humble. He didn't care that their feet stunk. He didn't care that they were dirty. He cared that He loved them and could serve them, even in this "little" way. Jesus said we should wash one another's feet. I just thought about this: we go out into the world and get dirty-- we proclaim the gospel, we get persecuted, we are inflicted by pain, etc. and then we are to wash one anothers feet-- help each other stay the course, point each other to Jesus, encourage one another and exhort each other to live holy...

Okay, so back to the puffed up thing...

Like I was saying, why do we get puffed up and prideful over thing's in our lives? Even in our walk with Christ (you or someone you know) has likely said "_______(insert some sin you do) isn't as bad as __________(this other sin that just seems way worse than the first and someone else does); therefore I'm better than _______(the person who does the second sin)." Okay, you know you've heard this statement before "I'm not that bad" but this statement is only true when we compare ourselves to others, not Jesus. Compared to perfection, we fall very short and we are (quite honestly) very bad--- however there is hope. Simply because we all fall short of the glory of God--- because all have sinned (Romans 3:23). Sin is sin-- period. It's all equal in God's eyes. God can save all. Period. No matter what we think or want to think. There is however no gray with God unlike what we hear so often in our day-to-day lives. "Why can't I have both?" It doesn't work. God's called us to obedience, wholeheartedness and love. Radically. Literally. Everyday. This means denying ourselves, taking up oour cross, crucifying our flesh, & laying aside our selfishness and our pride. Especially our pride. Pride seperates us from God. It doesn't allow us to ask for help or direction. It doesn't allow us to acknowledge our faults, instead it makes us avoid them for our own detrimental state. Pride says you're better than another when Jesus literally said, follow me. Jesus wants us to lose our pride so we can go low in humility--- when we go low in humility and we are walking in total surrender to God's will, we will serve and see God lifted up.

Read Pauls warning of being puffed up in I Corinthians 4. We should instead be thankful for all we have, humbling ourselves before God (not just man but also in our hearts). Let us press on, let go of pride and continue to fight the good fight of faith.