It is important to know that love is an action word.  Agape love is that which always acts in the best interest of whatever is loved.  Acting in the best interest of others is what love is all about, but it begins with acting.  How does love act?  In 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Paul personifies love, giving us a good picture of how true love consistently behaves.

1 Corinthians 13:4-5 (ESV)
⁴  Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant ⁵  or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful.

Love is patient (ver. 4).  Patient here is a compound of the Greek words Makros (μακρός), meaning “long in distant or time” and Thymos (θυμός), meaning “indignation or wrath.”  This second word has to do with having an outburst of anger and, therefore, has to do with one’s temper.  To be patient, then, is to have one’s emotions under control so that outbursts of wrath and indignation do not occur.  It is to have a long temper.  This is certainly a characteristic of God (Exodus 34:6; Numbers 14:18; Psalms 86:15).  If we have true love, that is how we will act, not only regarding objects but more importantly with people.

Love is kind (ver. 4a).  To be kind is to be gentle and nice.  Jesus used a form of this word in Luke 5:39 to describe old wine which is not sharp or biting, but instead has a mellow character to it.  This is a good way of thinking about kindness.  Those who are kind do not have a sharp tongue or a biting, harsh personality.  It should be noted, though, that kind, like love itself, is an action word.  It describes, not just how one talks to others but how one acts.  We need to take the time to be kind to others because this is how love acts (Proverbs 19:22; 1 John 3:17).

Love is not rude (ver. 5a).  The Greek word here denotes indecent behavior.  It is to behave shamefully, and it can manifest itself in a variety of ways.  It refers to being unmannerly or disrespectful to others, hence the translation “rude.”  It refers to being loud and out of control, hence the translation  “unseemly.”  The idea of indecency points to misbehaving from a moral standpoint.  Real love avoids all of these things and instead behaves decently, respectfully, and under control in all situations.

Love does not envy.  Envy is the feeling of displeasure produced by witnessing or hearing of the advantage or prosperity of others.  Envy is cruel and devilish (James. 3:13; Genesis. 4:4-8).  Some confuse jealousy and envy.  The difference between the two is that jealousy wants the same thing that someone else has, while envy wants the very thing that another has and does not want the other person to have it.  Surely love does not act in such a way as that.

Love is not boastful.  The person who loves others does not spend a lot of time bragging about himself because he is not self-centered.  Self-centeredness is the root of being a braggart.  We talk about what is on our minds, don’t we?  Well, if a person is in the habit of thinking about himself more than anyone or anything else, guess what he is going to talk about the most?  That’s right—self!  That person is going to spend a lot of time boasting about any accomplishments he may achieve, but the person who properly loves does not do this because he is too busy loving others.  Remember, love is an action word.  So the one who loves does more doing than talking (1 Thessalonians 1:7-9).

Finally, love is not arrogant.  Arrogance is the mentality that produces bragging in the first place.  It is an inflated concept of one’s importance.  We have all been around such people;  that is, those who cannot wait to reveal how much they know or how much they have done.  Again, that is not how love behaves (Galatians 6:3; Luke 14:7-11).

In our next blog, I will look at the rest of what Paul says about the action of love.  Remember, if we love as we should, it will be reflected in our behavior.  One cannot claim to love as he should if he is living unlovingly.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things