Real Love “Does Not Parade Itself.”

Self-improvement books tell us that to get ahead we need to assume the look of success, blowout own horn, and play up our own talents. But real love does not brag about its accomplishments. It is not given to self-display. This concept finds ancient roots in the Bible. Pride was the first of all sins committed by Satan himself when he said, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:14). King Solomon said it well when he wrote, “Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth” (Proverbs 27:2). Simply put, real love does not push itself into the spotlight.
This fourth description of love is the other side of the coin from a love that is not envious or jealous. Jealousy wants what someone else has; bragging tries to make others jealous of what we have. Jealousy puts others down; bragging builds ourselves up. Real love, however, not only applauds the successes of another, but it knows how to handle its own wins with grace and humility.

Real Love “Is Not Puffed Up.”

The Greek word Paul uses here means “to puff oneself out like a bellows.” In describing what real love is not, he chose a term he used earlier when he encouraged the loveless Christians in Corinth not to “be puffed up on behalf of one another against the other” (1 Corinthians 4:6).
In that earlier passage, Paul described the Corinthians as being so full of themselves that they had no room to feel the pain of others. Now, here in chapter 13, he used the same word picture to show that the arrogance that makes us unwilling to receive the help of others also makes us insensitive to those who need us.
Puffed-up people, full of themselves with an exaggerated sense of their own importance, assume that their happiness, opinions, and feelings are the only ones that matter. Puffed-up people find it easy to dismiss the needs and feelings of others.
One place we might look to see if we have a puffed-up sense of our own importance is in our prayers. Do we pray only for ourselves and our own interests, or do we also pray for the concerns of others?
The New Testament’s view of real love does not teach us to neglect our own needs. It simply instructs us to remember that our interests are not more important than the interests of others.
The next 2 descriptions of love will come tomorrow.