By Warren David Horak

Love Is Not Proud

There are 8 facets of love where there is an absence of something that the enemy has as his main traits.

There are certain things those who love do not do.

Love does not envy others, Love never boasts about its accomplishments nor is love proud and arrogant.

Love is truly humble, as God is humble.

1 Corinthians 13:4 "…Love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up…"

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Introduction

Welcome, everyone, to this powerful message on the facets of love.

Today we're diving deep into God's perfect love. 

The world is full of fear, but love always wins. We must pursue love daily and make it our priority.

That's why I love 1 Corinthians 13, which beautifully describes the attributes of love. Let's read it again:

"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 

Love never fails." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NKJV

This biblical definition of love reveals 16 facets - eight things you do and eight things you don't do. 

Today, we'll focus on three facets of love that we should abstain from, which are traits of the devil.

The Lord wants us to avoid these things and walk in His perfect love.

Love Does Not Envy

One of the crucial facets of love is that it does not envy.

When we envy someone, we see them with something we want and become upset about their blessing.

The Greek word for envy means "to be heated or to boil with envy, hatred, and anger." Envy is like cancer inside us, and the Lord wants to set us free from it.

Let's look at Proverbs 14:30:

"A sound heart is life to the body, but envy is rottenness to the bones." Proverbs 14:30

This verse shows us that envy can cause physical problems, potentially leading to bone disorders. Without healthy bones, we can't function properly.

A sound mind leads to a healthy body, but envy rots us from the inside out.

The Bible provides several examples of envy's destructive power. One of the first is the story of Joseph.

His brothers envied him because of their father's favoritism and Joseph's prophetic dreams. Their envy turned to hatred, leading them to sell Joseph into slavery.

Another powerful example is Jesus Himself. Mark 15:9-10 reveals:

"But Pilate answered them, saying, 'Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?' For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy." Mark 15:9-10

Jesus was killed because of envy. The religious leaders couldn't stand His growing popularity and the glory He was receiving. Their envy led to hatred and ultimately to His crucifixion.

The parable of the prodigal son also illustrates the danger of envy. When the father throws a celebration for the returned son, the older brother becomes angry and envious. He can't rejoice in his brother's restoration because he's focused on what he perceives as unfair treatment.

In Acts 13:44-45, we see another instance of envy:

"On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul." (Acts 13:44-45 NKJV)

The religious leaders were filled with envy when they saw the crowds gathering to hear Paul preach. Their envy led them to oppose the gospel message.

So how do we overcome envy? The answer is love.

When we truly love others, we rejoice in their blessings. We must guard our hearts against envy, especially as we see others entering their promised land and receiving blessings.

Remember, if you're not happy about someone else's blessing, the problem is with you, not them.

Love Does Not Parade Itself

The next facet of love we'll explore is that love does not parade itself.

This refers to boasting and is closely linked to pride. It's about self-display, bragging about one's successes, and always wanting to be in the spotlight.

People who parade themselves are seeking attention and esteem from others, often driven by the fear of man.

Pride and envy often work together.

A prideful person wants to be seen and heard by everyone, but they'll also envy anyone more successful than them. They can't tolerate others being more successful, especially if it overshadows their own achievements.

1 Corinthians 4:7 addresses this issue:

"For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?" (1 Corinthians 4:7 NKJV)

Everything we have - our talents, looks, finances, successes - is given to us by God. When we boast about these things as if we created them ourselves, we're deceiving ourselves and others.

The answer to pride is humility. James 4:10 tells us:

"Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up." (James 4:10 NKJV)

God promises to lift us up if we humble ourselves. The problem is that we often want to lift ourselves up instead of letting God do it. When we lift ourselves up, we take the credit, but when God lifts us up, He gets the glory.

Galatians 6:14 provides the right perspective on boasting:

"But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." (Galatians 6:14 NKJV)

Our only boast should be in the cross of Christ. We should give God all the glory, praise, and thanks for everything in our lives.

This is how we avoid the trap of pride and self-worship.

Love Is Not Puffed Up

The final facet of love we'll discuss today is that love is not puffed up. This is closely related to not parading oneself and is another aspect of pride. To be puffed up means to be swollen with pride, like a balloon ready to burst.

1 Corinthians 8:1 warns us about the danger of being puffed up:

"Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies." (1 Corinthians 8:1 NKJV)

Knowledge can lead to pride if we're not careful. The more we know, the more tempted we might be to look down on others or think too highly of ourselves. But love builds up others instead of inflating our own egos.

The antidote to being puffed up is found in Matthew 11:28-30:

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV)

Jesus invites us to come to Him and learn from His gentle and humble heart. When we're stressed, burdened, or feeling the weight of pride on our shoulders, we need to surrender it all to Him.

His yoke is easy, and His burden is light.

Pride makes life difficult, but humility brings rest to our souls.

Conclusion

As we've explored these three facets of love - not envying, not parading ourselves, and not being puffed up - we see how crucial it is to walk in God's love.

These attributes are interconnected, all stemming from pride and self-centeredness.

The solution to all of them is the same: humbling ourselves before God and walking in His love.

Remember, love always wins. 

When we choose to rejoice in others' blessings instead of envying them, when we give God the glory instead of parading ourselves, and when we humble ourselves instead of being puffed up, we're walking in the facets of love that reflect God's character.

Let's pray:

Father, we come to you in the name of Jesus.

We thank you for helping us walk in love. You said love suffers long, and we thank you for the longsuffering in our lives. You said love is kind, and we thank you for the kindness we can exercise.

This week, Lord, help us not to envy anyone but to be excited about their blessings. Help us not to parade ourselves or be puffed up, but to walk in love.

Change us, Lord, and help us reflect your perfect love in everything we do. In Jesus' name, Amen.

May the Lord bless you, keep you, be gracious to you, lift up His countenance upon you, and give you His divine Shalom.

As we continue to explore the facets of love in our lives, may we grow more like Christ each day, embodying His perfect love in all we do.

Remember, love always wins, and as we walk in love, we overcome fear and reflect God's character to the world around us.

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