Love Is Not Envious

"Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily" 1 Corinthians 13:4.

Love is not envious (ze-LOo-, original Greek, and is from the word (ZE-los) or zeal), which means; To be zealous, filled with zeal, zealously affected; to make a show of zeal, to profess affection in order to gain someone as a follower. Also, the word "not" refers to ever... So, actually you would say that Love never is envious, nor boils over with jealousy, First, let me say that we are still talking about the kind of love that God wants us to have for Him and for everyone else in our lifetime.

The envy and jealousy they are referring to in I Cor 13 is not just to the love inside a marriage and or a dating relationship, but EVERY relationship. Now, If I really love you, I want good things to happen for you. When they do, it's like they have happened to me and I share your joy. Love, AGAPE LOVE, takes us out of ourselves and places us in the other person's shoes. Their needs become our needs. Their sorrows become our sorrows.

And their joys become our joys. In love there is no room for envy, because my joy at your good fortune is the same as my joy in my good fortune. But, you say, it's only natural to desire good things that other people have. Exactly, but agape love is not natural. It's supernatural. It doesn't come from us. It comes from God and travels through us. What we have to do is get our "natural" self out of the way and let the supernatural power of Gods love flow.

We need ... "more of Him and less of me".

Galations 5:24-26 Explains what I mean.

"24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires. 25 If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.] 26 Let us not become vainglorious and self-conceited, competitive and challenging and provoking and irritating to one another, envying and being jealous of one another."

I desire above all thing that we grow together in the knowledge of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Love is not envious.

I love you,
Preston