Tuesday: What Love Does Not Do
Daily Lesson for Tuesday 11th of August 2026
Read again 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Why does Paul mention negative rather than only positive characteristics of love?
Yesterday, we focused on seven things love does; today, we will look into eight things it does not do. Love . . .
-
Does not envy (zeloō). Zeloō can be used positively as in “desire [zeloō] the higher gifts” (1 Corinthians 12:31, ESV), “desire [zeloō] the spiritual gifts” (1 Corinthians 14:1, ESV), and “desire [zeloō] to prophesy” (1 Corinthians 14:39, ESV). Here, though, as in Acts 7:9, it is negative. It is OK to desire spiritual gifts but not to envy gifted persons. This causes division (1 Corinthians 3:3).
-
Does not boast (perpereuomai). The verb perpereuomai conveys the idea of arrogance and desire for praise from others. Love, however, is not self-focused like that. This is even clearer in what follows.
-
Image © Review & Herald Publishing from GoodSalt.com
Does not puff up (physioō). The verb physioō occurs in 1 Corinthians 8:1 in Paul’s remarkable statement, “ ‘Knowledge’ puffs up, but love builds up” (ESV). It refers to a person inflated with self-importance.
-
Does not behave rudely (aschēmoneo). The verb aschēmoneo may have an ample range of meanings. By and large, though, it means acting contrary to social and moral standards in a dishonorable, shameful, indecent, or improper manner. Paul likely is referring to the arrogant and rude behavior of the “strong” party toward the “weak” members in Corinth (1 Corinthians 4:10, 1 Corinthians 8:1-13).
-
Does not seek (zēteo) its own [rights]. This is similar to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:24: “No one is to seek his own right, but rather that of others” (author’s translation). Love gives up its own rights for the sake of others (see Lesson 5). In a setting in which everyone seeks each other’s rights, all benefit.
-
Does not get easily irritated (paroxynō). The verb paroxynō suggests an inward state of arousal pointing to someone easily provoked to anger. This means that love is not short-tempered or touchy.
-
Does not keep records (logizomai) of wrongs. The verb logizomai has an accounting sense here, meaning that love does not take one’s wrongs into account. In other words, love also means to forgive.
-
Does not delight (chairō) in wrongdoing. Love not only keeps no record of someone else’s wrongs but takes no pleasure in them. When we truly love others, we do not rejoice at their mistakes but, instead, seek to help them.
Bird photographers are a funny mob at times. You run into them on the tracks in the bush and they start talking together. Sooner or later, the talk gets technical, and it’s all about lenses and cameras. To cut the illustration short, the conversations are often about “My lens is bigger, faster, or more expensive than yours!” There are some bird photographers I know what gear they have and how much they paid for it, but I have never seen one of their bird photographs. I came across a bunch of bird photographers chatting away in the bush about lenses and pixels one day and I joined them for a while – they were, after all, my friends – when I heard the distinct call of a Spotted Pardalote. I moved away, found the bird and photographed it. Then I walked back to the group and showed them the photograph. That cut short the techie lens conversation and we all got back to the business of bird photography.
And if you think I have just been posting on the wrong discussion forum, think again.
Whenever we get into these “My religion is better than your religion” arguments, show them the photographs (fruits).
Real bird photographers, use patience and understanding, persistence, bird behaviour knowledge and a genuine love for birds to get good bird photographs.
Spotted Pardalote
Cool pic
Always blessed by your comments and illustrations backed by scripture. Thanks for also sharing your photos!
Makes me want to repeat the words of this song by Civilla D. Martin.
I have to go with a yellow breasted, throated, white speckled crown and wing finch. Just does not have the beak of a warbler or chat, beak is close to a sparrow, but I find no match. I will have to go with a finch.
Relating what love is not. Observation of God’s avian creators with a God given mind of power, love, and very sober(self-control), has no place for envy, rudeness, flamboyance, wrong doing, nor sparks irritability. Rather fosters happiness, freeness, and comfort.
2 Timothy 1:7. God has not given us a spirit of timidity and fear, but a spirit of boldness, love and self-discipline. From The Clear Word.
Psalm 91:4. Comfort behind His shield
Ruth 2:12. Comfort under His wings
Psalm 23:6. Comfort by His mercy and goodness.
Matthew 6:26-33. Comfort knowing He supplies all needs.
So happy you are a “real bird photographer.” I always marvel at the detail in your photos which I could never see with my bare eyes.
And yes, the illustration is great too. 😊
Thank you so much for the real life example of love and patience…and I love that you shared the picture of the bird… beautiful!
Awesome! God’s creation! Thanks Maurice..
True love is not only what we do other people but also what we refuse to do to them. What is the point of doing very good things to people and then turn around and do evil things to them? Paul is simply giving us a warning that while we are doing godly things to people, we have a propensity of doing evil things to the same people. He is telling us to be very careful of evil things that sneaks into the lives of godly people.
“ If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12, NLT).
Paul is sounding an alarm of the sin that lurks nearby. He is telling us to be extra watchful even when we are confident in our Christian walk, we need to exercise humility. Nobody is too strong not to fall. Dependence in God is the only assurance we have in our Christian walk.
The most abused word in the world today is “love”. For instance, a person tells the spouse I love you….I love you, and a few days later turns round and kills the spouse. During marriage vows, a person promises to love till death do them a part, sadly a few weeks later, the person becomes extremely unfaithful. Pauls is simply telling us that the love that originates in God does not do evil. It is pure love. But unfortunately, the love that originates from the hearts of mankind is tainted with evil. It is therefore not surprising for Paul to remind us what pure love does not do. Many times we human beings think that we are perfect in our ways. The Rich Young Ruler (Luke 18:18-30) is a typical specimen of who we are. He thought is love for the law was perfect till Jesus exposed his spiritual nakedness. In fact, what we do is far much less than what we have failed to do. Next time when we start puffing up that we are better than those guys who visit dance halls, let us remember the Rich Young Ruler.
John MacArthur writes: “Sometimes our attitude and behavior in the name of righteousness is more improper, and less righteous, than some of the things we criticize.” This truth is like a mirror, with a clear message: we have labored under the delusion that we are pretty good people who love others. But God’s Word is showing us today that we are NOT that loving for we are naturally rude, selfish, self-centered, and capable of outbursts of unnecessary anger. Thus, the truth is, we do NOT love the way we think we do. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud” (1 Corinthians 13:4). The Word of God exposes not only the behavior of others but also the condition of our own hearts. “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).Therefore, the question is not simply whether others are loving toward us, but whether Christ is transforming us into people who genuinely love others as He commands: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34).
The church of Corinth also had members who were narcissist, for they placed their own welfare above others. They had self-seeking attitudes; many in Corinth were disgraceful, dishonorable, and indecent since they treated one another that way. Even worse, those wronged by the narcissists became angry and kept a list of their perceived wrongs and failures. Some were in the camp of the self-seeking, instigators, while others were in the camp of the record keepers. Paul insisted both are wrong, and it made no difference, as both generated bitterness. “Love is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Corinthians 13:5). The love that Paul describes refuses to put self above others and refuses to keep a record of the wrongs committed by others.
Paul’s argument was that the church’s motivation for ministry service must be to love for one another. For the narcissists, Paul stated that they must learn how to serve out of love for others and not love of themselves. For the record keepers, Paul warned them that keeping records of the quirks and failures of others will only lead to anger, disrespect, and conflict, but never to fulfilling God’s command to love. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves” (Philippians 2:3). Love therefore calls us to move beyond self-interest and to serve others with humility. “Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up” (Romans 15:2). Christian ministry cannot be driven by the desire to protect ourselves, promote ourselves, or punish those who have wronged us; it must be motivated by genuine love for one another.
I am struggling with some of the comments on agape love. Especially in the explanation of 1 Corinthians 13:7 Whilst excellent in many ways there seems to be an imbalance in my humble opinion.
For 1 Corinthians 13:7 in various versions
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. KJV
Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful, and trusting. CEV
Love never stops being patient, never stops believing, never stops hoping, never gives up. GW
She bears up under everything; believes the best in all; there is no limit to her hope, and never will she fall. ISV
What is the interpretation and/or explanation of these verses to someone in an abusive, coercive, potentially dangerous relationship?
Could this text be used to justify someone ‘hanging on and bearing up and enduring such a relationship whilst always hoping and believing things will improve?
Abusers will use that text to put the guilts in those they abuse. I have seen it too many times. That was never the intention of that verse. You can forgive, but that does not mean putting yourself in a position to be abused again. And being coerced by guilt is essentially bullying.
A couple of points to consider:
Forgiveness is not reconciliation. Nor is it a pardon or absolution for what they have done.
I like the idea that it is the removal of active hatred.
Forgiveness is not the work of a moment but a lifestyle. In the complexity of human relationships it may mean keeping well away from one another.
Dear Marcia, I believe that in an abusive relationship, it is important to remember what Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 6:19-20 – that we are not our own but are the temple of the Holy Spirit. If you were to look after a temple of God built of wood, would you allow someone to damage or destroy it? Of course not. How much more important is it to guard our body temples from injury and destruction from an abuser! And since the Holy Spirit particularly wants to inhabit our minds, we must resist the emotional, mental and spiritual abuse from another human, giving the Holy Spirit first place in our minds.
Paul mentions that we are not to abuse our own body temples by sexual immorality, but the principle also applies to what we allow others to do to our body temple, including our minds, which belong to God.
As Maurice already suggested, often the best solution is to get out of the situation and avoid contact with the abuser. Forgiveness sets us free from resentment and even thinking about evil. It does not mean that we need to violate the principle of 1 Cor. 6:19-20.
May the Lord give you wisdom! 🙏
To add to what Maurice and Inge have said, I think love is complex. We often think of love as the nice sweet stuff. We make this worse when we talk about a balance between God’s love and justice. In reality, God’s justice is a reflection of His love.
I feel that ignoring abuse may actually be unloving to the other person. When we look at the need for discipline in the church, the purpose of it is redemptive. By disciplining someone, hopefully they wake up to the fact that their actions are not correct. Then they can fix them. But as long as we put up with things, there is no motivation to change. By telling an abusive spouse (or anyone for that matter), “I will not accept your behavior” you give them an opportunity to fix things. They may or may not change, but they certainly won’t as long as they are allowed to keep on abusing. And their eternal destiny is therefore at risk. Better to be forced to confront the evil they’re doing.
God loved Israel, but He allowed them to reap the consequences of their actions. This was redemptive too.
In the TLB version it says, “If you love someone, you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost”. I don’t know if this is an accurate translation of the text. Some would interpret loyalty as supporting someone even in a wrong course of action. To not support a wrong action can be interpreted as disloyalty when in reality it can be truly being loyal based on higher principles of God’s law.
The Living Bible is an interesting paraphrase by Dr Kenneth Taylor. It is not a translation by scholars, but it reflects what one man thought the Bible means. And you’re right to question the accuracy of this interpretation. I suspect he was thinking of loyalty to God and of people who are committed to God.
Only the author of the Living Bible can explain what he meant. I am sure he did not mean supporting wrong out of loyalty.
My mind did take me to I Timothy 2:13 which says (in the 1984 NIV), “If we are faithless, he will also remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”
Perhaps if we see I Corinthians as reflecting God’s love, this can help us understand it better. God was loyal to the human race no matter what. That cost Him His life. He desires us to grow in that characteristic, though obviously it looks different for us.
I do feel you can be loyal to someone without supporting their actions. In families we face this regularly – sometimes family members make choices we don’t feel are morally acceptable. Can we still love them in these situations? I think as humans we generally fall into one of two ditches – we disown them (or less extremely, distance ourselves in some way) or we justify their wrongdoing and make excuses so we can maintain the relationship. God shows us there is a way to do neither and love without supporting what’s wrong.
H’mm … you made me think: Can true loyalty be equated with love? What if a family member committed a crime that justifies imprisonment? Does loyalty demand we shield the criminal family member from justice? Or does loyalty mean we do not shield the person from justice but stick with that person and give support through imprisonment and rehabilitation?
(I realize this is an extreme example, but sometimes extreme examples allow us to see more clearly.)
Inge, I never saw that perspective on how we should deal with abuse. You are correct. While the principles of love are clearly stated by Paul, God has given us the understanding to make decisions that are healthy on all counts.
An interesting thought came to mind as I reflected on today’s lesson. It is fallen human nature to do these things. To look out for myself first. You see it everywhere in the world and sadly sometimes even in the church. Can we celebrate when someone else gets the promotion, position, or office that we were hoping for, or do we become disgruntled, and angry?
We are called to rejoice with those that rejoice, and mourn with those that mourn. (Romans 12:15). It means we should feel happy when other people are happy. It is paired with “mourn with those who mourn” to teach us how to care for each other with true love and kindness. This requires maturity and humility, as well as help from above. Lord help me to be what you want me to be.
Love may not be about saying yes to everything, perhaps more about listening and perceiving good.
Great input people. Maurice Ashton your bird illustration is effective. Have been thinking of vision 2027 lately. A memory of your vision for the Avondale church juniors Sabbath school class is worth recording. You invited the juniors over to science to view a new way to spread the gospel. You showed them the electronic letters that could be sent all round the world. Wow ..pow..the internet….you took them out of an ordinary lesson vision and gave them an extra ordinary vision of the future. Pinchin clan.ken and me and juniors went up the sidebar with you. Away from the technical to the real vision of evangelism. Power on regards reneanne Anderson.
Wow! That was so long ago that it was almost over the horizon of my memory. Thank you for the affirmation Reneanne. It brought tears of happiness to my eyes.