BEYOND SELF-IMPORTANCE

Read: 1 CORINTHIANS 13

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Bible in a year: Numbers 28-30

The congregation in Corinth was a community full of talents. However, at the same time, the congregation was also colored by competition, intrigue, and division. They highly esteemed various spiritual gifts. However, they often forgot the essence of all those spiritual gifts, which is love.

Therefore, Paul gave a straightforward reprimand. At the same time, he invited the Corinthian congregation to reflect on the purpose of all knowledge, prophecies, or extraordinary abilities if not grounded in love (verses 1-3). For Paul, the most important thing is love. And the love he meant was not just moral knowledge. Love is the fruit of faith (in the God of Love) that is manifested in primacy towards others in everyday real life (verses 4-7).

Today's golden verse highlights one form of that love, which is the ability not to seek self-interest and not to keep track of others' wrongs. Why is this important? Because, in the real life of the Corinthian congregation, what often happens is the opposite. They tend to be fixated on self-importance, wanting to be prioritized, wanting to be considered right, wanting to look great, and easily getting hurt.

Therefore, Paul invites the Corinthian congregation (and us) to go beyond self-importance. This means we need to learn to prioritize the good of others and not seek personal gain. This is the characteristic of agape love. Without such love, all our talents and greatness are meaningless. Let us go beyond self-importance. Let us open ourselves to the work of the Holy Spirit. So that through our lives, His love is truly evident. --SAP/www.renunganharian.net

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ONLY GOD CAN GIVE US SELFLESS LOVE TOWARDS OTHERS BECAUSE THE HOLY SPIRIT TRANSFORMS US FROM WITHIN.-BILLY GRAHAM

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