The way of love - Part II: The measure of meaninglessness

I Corinthians 13 is an all-too familiar passage on love. It therefore takes some effort to hear these words in the context Paul used as he was writing them to the Corinthians: that of spiritual gifts.

After going back and re-reading the chapter with this context as my focus, I can mentally insert two sub-headings into Paul’s words. In the first three verses, we read about the futility of anything that isn’t motivated by love:

¹If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

I read these comparisons as warnings. Paul is saying that effectiveness and success in life, even success in the spiritual realm, is meaningless if it isn’t for the sake of love. Find history’s greatest person of faith, most renowned prophet, biggest philanthropist and bravest martyr - Paul says that these characteristics of their lives amount to nothing if love’s not at the core.

This causes me to wonder about the motivation behind the things I have done in my own life. I tend to do a lot of “behind-the-scenes” or “helps”-type work - this has typically been indicated as one of my main strengths by any test that aims to identify my spiritual gifting. But am I prone to giving without loving? And how can I know?

I am aided in my discovery by the next four verses, where Paul gives some benchmarks to identify whether or not love is the motive behind any action:

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

When I measure some of my acts of service against these benchmarks, I often see the motivation of love eroded. Each verse rings like an accusation to which I must plead guilty in many of the circumstances I can recollect. Patience is not often a characteristic of the way I serve others, nor is humility (which rules out not boasting or being proud.) As for self-seeking… well, let’s just say it is astonishing how much serving can really be done for the personal benefit of the server. And Paul’s list continues.

Can even the pursuit of spiritual formation be carried out in way that is rendered meaningless for its lack of love? Clearly, Jesus’ interactions with the Pharisees proved the answer to be an unquestionable “yes.”

[to be continued]