Psalm 89:33 Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.

Ever suffer failure in your life? We talk about successes don’t we? Every tail spoken about failure always seems to end up about being an overcomer. No one likes to speak about failure because it is negative. Failure drags you down. Failure makes you feel less. It creates false identity, it labels you loser.

We have at this time a nation which has lost its identity. I am not talking politics and policies, I am talking identity. It is a subtle thing. We will always have a voice saying what we are but that voice is not our identity. Authentic identity cannot be found in what we do as a nation either. Identity is found in Christ.

Philippians 3:9 And be found in him(Christ), not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

If we as Christians have failed at anything, then we must look to who we are in Christ and act according to that standard of lovingkindness. If we will do that, then success and failure is erased from the results and will have no effect on identity.

1 Corinthians 13:8a Love never fails.

In this section of 1 Corinthians 13 the issue of failure of the power gifts and the service gifts is foretold but love does not fail because love is not a gift. Love abides. Love is our identity. Love is who we are.

John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

Romans 15:2 Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.

The expression “It’s Greek to me!” fell into common use for good reason. Here is an example of how purists try and retain Greek meaning without clarity of understanding. None of the English translations bring any real clarity as to the meaning of the Greek, so they all leave it as “please his neighbor” so as not to add confusion.

Perhaps it is to allow the Holy Spirit to bring clarity where linguistics cannot.

Please here in the Greek is aresko which means to accommodate one’s self to the opinions, desires and interests of others. This by itself opposes other scriptures telling us not to be conformed to this world and to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

14 And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.

How does verse 14 compare to verse 2 given that Paul is writing to the same people? Is this perhaps a modern the day expression “the carrot and the stick”? In verse 2 he encourages use of the carrot, in 14 the use of the stick. Encouragement should always come before correction. You are on the right path. Stay on the path.

I am persuaded of this because of verse 1 which was not quoted to me, but to which I am familiar.

15:1 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

Maturity of faith and grace do not come upon us all in an instant. Wisdom takes time. We who sheppard others have a responsibility to Christ first and not to our own selves. We too are on a journey towards maturity and have not yet been perfected.

15:3 For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, the reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.

To serve and protect.