A New Look at 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

My wonderful husband has taken the baby for an outing all morning in the hopes that I would "do whatever I needed to do."  Examples given were "sleep, read, eat." He knows me well!  But I figured I would get this small thought down on the blog that hasn't been updated in FOREVER.

A Guide to Dating

I recently saw an idea on raising daughters in a Christian home and helping them to date.  They used 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 to make their point.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

And they told their daughter to insert the boyfriend/crush's name into the place of "Love" and ask if all statements rang true. "Billy is patient, Billy is kind.  Billy does not envy, he does not boast, he is not proud.  He does not dishonor others, he is not self-seeking, he is not easily angered, he keeps no record of wrongs.  Billy does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves." 

I thought that it was a beautiful idea, and outlines exactly what I hope our little girl would look for in her own relationships (when she's 40, that is!).  But then I really started to think and pray on it.

Teaching Her to Love

And it hit me: It isn't just a lesson I needed to teach her so that she finds love in someone else, but a lesson I needed to teach her to be in order to show others loev.  This is how I teach my girl to love herself, her significant other, her family, her friends, and her neighbors.

When she is old enough I will ask her if, when she enters her name into 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, does she think all statements are true.  Is she always patient with her sibling?  Is she always kind to her mother?

Of course the answer will be no--people slip up.  We make mistakes.  Only Jesus can be entered in place of Love and the verse ring true every.single.time.  But we can attempt to make it happen, ask for forgiveness of those we hurt when we fail, and pray for a little bit of God's perfect love to shine through us in all of our relationships.

With this lesson I can mold her into a loving young woman while also being able to teach her the beauty of grace and mercy.

But What About Us?

As I thought a little longer, I realized that this is not something to only be taught to our children.  It is something we should all learn.  Even if we are already married.  Even if no relationships seem to be bad in our lives.  Ask ourselves if, as a wife, am I always kind?  As a mother, am I always patient? And any statement that isn't true, we should ask for guidance and assistance in making the statement true.

Katie is patient, Katie is kind.  She does not envy, she does not boast, she is not proud.  She does not dishonor others, she is not self-seeking, she is not easily angered, she keeps no record of wrongs.  Katie does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  She always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres.

I don't know about you, but writing it out like that.  Forcing myself to evaluate each sentence, there is still PLENTY of work to be done.  But in the words of Philippians 1:6, there is hope.
"God's not done with me yet."