1 Corinthians 13:5a Doth not behave itself unseemly

Let me begin by saying love is a behavior. Maybe you have a memory of your mother saying “Behave yourself.” She caught you in a behavior that needed to change, so she was correcting you. I get it.

Last night we had a profound discussion about who we are in Christ and out of that conversation came a central point of behavior. “How can I love another if I do not love myself?” It wasn’t the first time I’ve heard the thought. I slept on it and this is what came to me this morning.

We are what we practice, we are what we see ourselves doing. It is not unlike a child’s attitude about himself, that image of self. We place children in activities to allow them to practice. They do not start out being dancers, or ball players, or musicians. Even the most gifted have to practice the fundamentals. Practice builds experience, experience builds confidence, confidence acts.

Why should charity be any different? You will not see yourself as being charitable if you do not act. Nothing I am saying is about being charitable, it is about how you feel about yourself. I can encourage you all day long but only you can practice those things that tells yourself you have changed.

No one asks for prayer to be more loving without first seeing in themselves a behavior which is not in line with how love acts as it is described in 1 Corinthians 13. This is how love behaves. I do not do that, so I am not a loving person. They only way to change that self-image is practice. You may not be good at it to begin with but trust me, God honors effort.

Read and understand how love acts in the love chapter of the bible and know how to act. That is the first step. Recognize acts that tell yourself to behave, that is step two. Change the behavior, that is step three. With practice you will grow more confident in your ability to love and then love will grow in your heart for others out of who you are in Christ.

Proverbs 19:15 Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.

Have you ever listened to someone drone on about a subject only to find yourself falling asleep? Part of this experience is caused by a lack of interest in the subject. I will not try and pretend that every subject has some point of interest for you. That isn’t realistic.

The use of the ; connects slothfulness to the idle soul. What does not help here in proverbs is context. Normally the surrounding scriptures place any particular verse in context with the theme of the chapter, or at least some continuity of thought. Not here. It is as if this passage is meant to stand on its own without any help from what goes before or after this verse.

What do you do with that? In some it will say, not much, can’t be that important. In others it will reach right into the pit of their stomach and create an aching. Why should one verse create such diverse results? Doesn’t it send us right back to the issue of interest? Will a man who is active dig deeper until he finds meaning? Will an active man create an appetite which needs to be fed?

Mind you the only clear human subject here is the soul.

John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

The connection in Proverbs 19:15 is found in other scriptures, its meaning and context is found elsewhere. If you are not diligent to read and understand the scriptures, you might miss the meaning.