Love the Brethren

In 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, the Apostle Paul provided a detailed description of love; the essential nature of love is that it is all encompassing and that it drives our every motive.  In the overall context of this passage, Paul was correcting the attitude of the Christians; if we tie what Paul wrote in chapter 13 to the rest of the book, we note that the Corinthians had been envious, they had paraded themselves, they had rejoiced in iniquity, and their love for one another had failed.  Their care for one another was lacking because of their own selfish ambitions; desires for their own “rights” (as some today call it) trumped their willingness to look out for the spiritual wellbeing of one another.  This was accentuated by their desire for the “best” spiritual gifts, their sectarianism concerning by whom they had been taught, and participating in the activities directed towards idols (this is not a comprehensive list).  A key element in Paul’s description of love is that Christians need to consider the wellbeing of one another; this is something that needs to be on our mind with each decision that we make.  Does our decision glorify God? Does it help others in reaching their goal of heaven? Does it help me present myself as a servant of God who has denied the things of this world?

How imperative is it that we love one another? In 1 John 3:10, we read that in “this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.”  After referencing the murder of Abel by his brother Cain, John also wrote that “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:15).  In writing this, John was not literally stating that we are murderers, but that the end result is the same if we hate rather than love one another.

In Philippians 2:1-4, Paul again wrote on the concept of loving one another and expressly stated that we should overlook our own desires in light of those of our brethren.  Nothing is to “be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness 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” (2:3-4).  Why are such passages so important to us today? Many Christians speak about how much love they have for one another, and indeed that is likely to be their intent; however, what do their actions more often portray? Remember that the Christians in Corinth believed themselves to be longsuffering and loving of the brother in error, but Paul corrected their attitude and their method of discipline in 1 Corinthians 5. 

There is an attitude the creeps up now and then that can be summed up as “If that person doesn’t like what I’m doing, then that is THEIR problem and not mine”.  There are a plethora of topics through which this attitude is manifested, but perhaps the most common one (or at least the one we will use as an example) will be on the topic of modesty.  Too often, it is expressed that how we dress should not impact the spiritual lives of others and that our “freedom” (although this is not an established concept from Scripture) should not be impeded by the perceived weakness of others.  Is this an appropriate attitude for a Christian to parade around with?

Consider that John also wrote that “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us” (1 John 3:16).  What if Jesus had the attitude that we too often have towards one another? What if Jesus stated that His life should not have to be sacrificed for our iniquities? Instead, Jesus led the way for us and in “this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:9).  Therefore, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:11) and “we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16).  If we are unwilling to forego immodest apparel for our brethren, would we be willing to lay down our lives for the brethren? Are we echoing the love of God (1 John 3:16, 4:7-11) if we do not care for the spiritual welfare of our brethren? Or are we allowing things to be “done through selfish ambition” (Philippians 2:3)?

Part of what leads to such an attitude is that we do not concentrate on having a godly perspective rather than a worldly one; in other words, we allow the cares and desires of this world to outweigh what God would have us desire.  Are we keeping up with the latest fashion? Do we look good in our clothes? Do people of the world find us attractive? While many argue that it is merely for the sake of comfort that they wear immodest apparel, are we being honest with ourselves when make such an argument? For instance, how many times do young ladies wear shorts that are hardly longer than underwear compensate by wearing a sweatshirt or coat? How often do young men do the exact same thing? Is this for comfort in the heat, or is it for something else?

In 1 John 2:15-17, we are told not to “love the world or the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world.  And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”  If our main concern is keeping up with the latest fashion or being seen as attractive by the world, then we clearly have placed the love of the world over the love of the Father.  If we refuse to consider the spiritual wellbeing of our brethren in order that we might wear our favorite shirt, shorts, dress, etc., then “the love of the Father” is not in us.  Additionally, John wrote that “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:8).  Do we consider the needs of our brethren ahead of our own desires?

As Paul wrote, “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seeks its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).