Real Love “Does Not Behave Rudely.”

The only other New Testament occurrence of this expression is found in 1 Corinthians 7:36, which describes the relationship between an unmarried couple. Various translations render it as “not behaving unseemly, unbecomingly, rudely, unmannerly, or indecently.” While emphasizing the highest priority of devotion to God, Paul went on to say that if a man and a woman found themselves faced with sexual temptation, they should marry rather than “behave improperly.”
How does “behaving improperly” relate to the principle of real love referred to in 1 Corinthians 13? It reminds us that the honorable nature of real love will never make inappropriate demands of others. Real love will never prompt an unmarried person to say, “If you love me, you’ll prove it by giving yourself to me.” Those who love will never ask others to prove their loyalty by lying, cheating, or stealing for them.
Real love does not use a friendship to pressure anyone to do something contrary to the principles of their conscience or faith, or the moral principles of God. The worst acts of sexual indulgence, the most hideous acts of cover-up, the most depraved secrets of family, gang, group, or friendship have been held under the misused name of love. Real love is never a tool of coercion.

Real Love “Does Not Seek It’s Own.”

This is a favorite expression of Paul to describe selflessness. It speaks of the person whose focus is outward. In Philippians 2, Paul expressed the principle of real love this way: “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in low-liness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others” (vs. 3-4).
Paul’s great passion for those who have taken the name of Christ is that they be unified, of one mind. Yet this oneness will never be  a reality in a church, a marriage, or any other relationship until we look out for the interests of others with as much care and effort as we look out for our own. Paul even said that real love puts the needs of others ahead of our own.
This self-sacrifice flies in the face of our human nature, yet it expresses the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5). He humbled Himself to leave His Heavenly Father, to live in the limitations of a physical body, to walk  the earth in poverty, to be a servant to people who would reject Him, to wash the feet of disciples who would betray & abandon Him, to die on the cross for the sins of people who did not deserve Him. Jesus’ entire life was an example of putting others ahead of self.

Tomorrow we will have the next 2 descriptions of real love.