Love Never Fails – WOMEN in RECOVERY

Love is patient

• It is long-tempered, opposite of “short fused”.
• Love is learning how to put up with others.
• It has restraint of anger, wrath, temper in all sorts of life situations .
• Patience is the key factor which is required in order to take a biblical course of action.
• Lack of patience is evidence of a lack of love.
• Love thinks of the other person first; lack of patience puts oneself first.
• Love shown to be giving of one’s self, time, interests to another while giving up on one’s rights, privileges, concerns, etc.
• Love is never in the abstract, it involves relationship with God and neighbor. It never stands alone.

Love is kind:

• Kindness is the opposite of all that is cruel and severe.
• It is thoughtful of other’s feelings.
• It is gentleness in action not passive.
• It cares about others and actively helps in a concrete way.

Love is not jealous:

• It rejoices in others good fortune.
• It has no desire to lessen the desires, virtues, achievements or happiness of another.
• It puts others first before self.
• He shares what he possesses and enjoys helping others develop their assets.

Love does not boast:

• It does not parade one’s self before others.
• It does not need personal significance in the eyes of others ,but gives praise to others.
• It makes no odious comparisons.
• It does not down others in order to lift self up.
• It keeps quiet about even genuine achievements, but deflects from self to give praise to God

Love is not proud:

• It acknowledges God’s hand in all his achievements; always has an attitude of thankfulness to God, in all things.
• It exhibits a sense of humility recognizing God is all.
• It does not demand rights, privileges, significance, praise, etc.

Love does not act in an ugly way:

• An unloving person will do things ,say things, assume attitude of which he later will be ashamed.
• It never offends by indelicate or crude acts and words that are violent or foul.
• It is concerned about manner as well as matter.

Love is not self-seeking:

• It seeks the other person’s welfare and does not calculate what benefits he may accrue, no boomerang thinking.
• It does not do for others as a gimmick to gain certain personal ends.
• It does not say “what’s in it for me,” but does what God says to do in order to please God first.

Love is not easily irritated:

• This refers to “rousing to anger,”
• It considers and thinks carefully before being irritable, thus, checking his spirit and sacrificing self, his plans, schedules, etc. for others.

Love does not keep records of wrongs:

• It is one who does not count up, recall and throw up to another all the offenses that he has committed.
• Forgiveness is the key problem for one who keeps records.
• Love is not happy about injustice, but happily stands on the side of truth:
• It does not sit idly by when God’s word is attacked.
• It is not mute about unfair actions against others.
• It takes a stand for what is right and against what is wrong.

Love covers all things:

• Rather than make a point of every offense against himself, the lover bears wrongdoing patiently.
• Out of love, he even covers what was done to him or others.
• Not every wrong should be made an issue,but love covers every little rub between believers and covers these from his own eyes as well as from others.

Love believes all things:

• When others doubt, the one who loves firmly believes.
• Only hard evidence would make him doubt another’s words.
• Love thinks first of others,not himself; thus, involves himself in risk.
• He would rather injure himself than to injure another.
• His disposition is always to believe another if it is at all possible.

Love hopes all things:

• It always gives the other fellow the benefit of the doubt.
• It hopes for the best in others.
• It does not go around looking for wrong in others.
• This optimism does not grow out of faith in men, but in God who can change them.
• Whereas, a spirit of hopelessness or resignation ,can be further occasion for the person to fall.

Love endures all things:

• This means that every sort of offense, pressure, affliction, and persecution can be endured in love. See ( 1 Corinthians 10:13 )