The fourth day of Lovemas is upon us! Our Lovemas season is only four days in, but already it seems that love has proven to be quite a complex word. The box that we put love in is bursting at the seams as we get into what counts as love and what does not count as love. But very briefly, I just want to get back to the point of all of this. Let me just express to you that the reason that I have typed out four blog posts, all with the rather campy term "lovemas" in them, is because love is important to God.
I would rather not carry on for twelve days about something that is fruitless and has no meaning. Nothing would give me more joy than to pull back on the reigns and be a little more conservative on how much and how often I creatively put my voice out there. But Jesus himself plainly stated how important love is multiple times. So I continue on, believing that the tiny spark that I hope to generate might be fanned by the power of the Holy Spirit.
This time of year, as Christians, we get wrapped up in making sure that the public knows and honors what is important to us. Stating that the reason we choose to partake in the festivities this Christmas is Jesus and Jesus alone is good! But I fear that we sometimes forget that one of the easiest ways for an outsider to understand what is important to us crazy Christians is to witness us act it out rather than to hear us shout it out. Jesus said that they would know us as Christian's by our love. So I think, in a world that is desperately struggling for a savior, it is paramount that we spend some time in figuring out what is meant when it says to love our neighbor in the Bible.
Love, as it turns out, is a verb rather than a noun describing a fickle emotion. As seen in the days of Lovemas one through three, it is clear that love is a powerful surging action rather than a lofty fleeting feeling-is present one moment and gone the next. In fact, love is a major game changer. When loving someone, we don't treat them as we might treat someone that we don’t like. We amend our actions towards them and act kinder and gentler. We don't get quite as mad at them as we would others. In short, we show them that we care. Why? Because we love them, and this is how one loves someone. What we choose to do or not do is how others know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we love them.
On this most glorious of Lovemas’s, the part of the power verse that we have been going through that we shall dress is "Love is not proud". Proud. Now there's a word that almost feels archaic. The usual usage of the word proud is a positive one- one that could even flow into the rhealm of love. When I think of the word "proud" I usually imagine a father looking into the eyes of his son and saying, "I'm proud of you". That particular scenario is a beautiful scene of love and acceptance. In fact it is also a type of picture of God's paternal love for us! But that is not what 1 Corinthian's 13 is referring to here.
The Greek word φυσιόω (fooseeo' o) literally means to puff or blow up. I imagine a puffer fish quickly enlarging it’s body in an atempt to scare away a hungry predator. The word used for pride in 1 Corinthians 13:4 is synonymous with the word arrogant. So we are talking about embodying a sense of superiority, self importance, or entitlement rather than delighting in someone we adore. Those characteristics are some of the most recognizably negative traits that a person could encompass. I think we have all been annoyed by an arrogant person some time or another. But pride goes much further than an annoying quirk. Pride opposes wisdom.
Biblically speaking, where there is pride, wisdom will not be. This is because pride is blinding. When we are proud-sure of ourselves and our ability rather than God's- we take our eyes off of God and place them squarely on ourselves. It’s like putting on a big pair of horse blinders and trying to navigate a rocky path. An unwanted and unexpected tumble into the dirt will quickly be on its way, because we are unable to see when God is pointing us away from calamity. Eventually, we will walk right into it.
Pride and wisdom might not sound related when first hearing the two words. But the important connection between being puffed up and tapping into wisdom can be found in two key verses of Proverbs. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Okay, let’s stop right here for a bit and break that down some more.
The fear of the Lord has always been a biblical phrase that perplexes me. Are we supposed to be afraid of God? Is our loving father supposed to strike us with terror? I thought we were now able to boldly approach the throne. Well, if we look at the word used in the Hebrew for fear here (yirah), we can see rather than being horrified, it is referring to a sort of awe and reverence. So when Solomon was talking about the beginning of wisdom, he was talking about admiration, amazement, and even worship! That humble posture is where we need to be to even be at the starting point of wisdom. Knowing who God is (knowledge of the Holy One) brings us to the meek stance of being usable by God. And if we are standing in humility before God, it is impossible for us to also be prideful.
Proverbs 8: 13 continues to further explain what the fear of the Lord is saying, “The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate." When we stand in awe and knowledge of God’s holiness, our our hearts are changed. We may still struggle, but the Holy Spirit is alive and working in us. And in that work, pride and God simply do not mix. Assuming a posture of pride in our thoughts and actions leaves us unusable by God, and ultimately cut off of understanding and discernment. Throughout the bible, we can see case after case of the crippling affect of pride.
King Nebuchadnezzar is a wonderful example of pride going before the fall. King Nebuchadnezzar was big into mystics, other gods, and pomp and circumstance. In this particular chapter, good ole Chad was feeling pretty highly of himself. Daniel 4:30-32 says,
“30 As he looked out across the city, he said, ‘Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor.’
31 “While these words were still in his mouth, a voice called down from heaven, ‘O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you! You are no longer ruler of this kingdom. 32 You will be driven from human society. You will live in the fields with the wild animals, and you will eat grass like a cow. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses.’”
I love that. While Nebuchadnezzar was still mouthing off about how great he was, he is interrupted. Mid sentence, I would guess. I imagine God saying, “how much longer will he go on?! Just start now-deliver the message now”. See, God cannot stand pride. It goes against the very fabric of love. God designed us for fellowship, and not to lord ourselves over others because of our false sense of entitlement.
Herod had some trouble with pride too. Upon the birth of Jesus, instead of being overjoyed at the fact that salvation for the world had finally come, he was consumed with the need to be the great King. Fully immersed in a pride and insolence, Herod ordered all of the baby boys in Bethlehem to be killed. He greeted the son of man with attempted murder. Pride is like that. It clouds the mind like a poison, making us forget that God's mission for us and those around us is to be reconciled to him. God longs for us to put down our supposed titles and love one another.
“30 As he looked out across the city, he said, ‘Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor.’
31 “While these words were still in his mouth, a voice called down from heaven, ‘O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you! You are no longer ruler of this kingdom. 32 You will be driven from human society. You will live in the fields with the wild animals, and you will eat grass like a cow. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses.’”
I love that. While Nebuchadnezzar was still mouthing off about how great he was, he is interrupted. Mid sentence, I would guess. I imagine God saying, “how much longer will he go on?! Just start now-deliver the message now”. See, God cannot stand pride. It goes against the very fabric of love. God designed us for fellowship, and not to lord ourselves over others because of our false sense of entitlement.
Herod had some trouble with pride too. Upon the birth of Jesus, instead of being overjoyed at the fact that salvation for the world had finally come, he was consumed with the need to be the great King. Fully immersed in a pride and insolence, Herod ordered all of the baby boys in Bethlehem to be killed. He greeted the son of man with attempted murder. Pride is like that. It clouds the mind like a poison, making us forget that God's mission for us and those around us is to be reconciled to him. God longs for us to put down our supposed titles and love one another.
We are not better than anyone, even societies proclaimed "least of these". We are not more deserving than those around us, even people who we feel like aren't doing enough. We were just as lost, just as in need of a savior as that one person that we might feel owes us. This Christmas season, rather than unwittingly attempting to crush the love that God has extended to us by keeping it from others, let us look and behold the son of God. Let us gaze upon the manger with awe and worship, and realize who he is, and who we really are.
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