If I Don't Have Love, I'm Nothing

“I may speak in different languages, whether human or even of angels. But if I don’t have love, I am only a noisy bell or a ringing cymbal. I may have the gift of prophecy, I may understand all secrets and know everything there is to know, and I may have faith so great that I can move mountains. But even with all this, if I don’t have love, I am nothing. I may give away everything I have to help others, and I may even give my body as an offering to be burned. But I gain nothing by doing all this if I don’t have love.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:1-3‬ ‭ERV‬‬

Get ready to be burned. I am. Constantly by these scriptures. Do you have times when you think you are pretty hot stuff? Maybe you teach a Sunday class. Heck, maybe you have an entire ministry to teach online. Maybe you donated your time and money last week to a good cause. Maybe you even tithe every month. Maybe you pray everyday, twice a day. Maybe you read your Bible a lot.

But here is what God says about that.

"But even with all this, if I don’t have love, I am nothing. "

"I may give away everything I have to help others, and I may even give my body as an offering to be burned. But I gain nothing by doing all this if I don’t have love.”
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It gets even more humbling. It describes what love looks like.

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud. Love is not rude, it is not selfish, and it cannot be made angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it. Love is never happy when others do wrong, but it is always happy with the truth. Love never gives up on people. It never stops trusting, never loses hope, and never quits.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:4-7‬ ‭ERV‬‬

Lord, if I don't serve and give out of a heart with love, I'm just a clanging bell and annoying cymbal. And if I don't love even the difficult person in my life on their worst day, I really don't resemble Jesus at all. I look like everyone else. Gracious, show me how to look just like you, Jesus.

Ask God First

“The men of Israel wanted to know if these men were telling the truth. So they tasted the bread—but they did not ask the Lord what they should do. Joshua agreed to make peace with them. He agreed to let them live. The leaders of Israel agreed with this promise of Joshua.”
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭9:14-15‬ ‭ERV‬‬

This story is our story. Here's what happened. The children of Israel were demolishing every enemy in sight. They were victorious on all fronts. The surrounding enemies saw their impending defeat. One city, Gibeon, had a great idea.

“The people from the city of Gibeon heard about the way Joshua had defeated Jericho and Ai.”
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭9:3‬ ‭ERV‬‬

“Then they went to the camp of the Israelites. This camp was near Gilgal. The men went to Joshua and said to him, “We have traveled from a faraway country. We want to make a peace agreement with you.” The men of Israel said to these Hivite men, “Maybe you are trying to trick us. Maybe you live near us. We cannot make a peace agreement with you until we know where you are from.”

The men answered, “We are your servants. We have come from a faraway country. We came because we heard of the great power of the Lord your God. We heard about what he has done and about everything he did in Egypt.”
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭9:6-7, 9‬ ‭ERV‬‬

This city pretended to be from far away and they ended up making a very valuable peace treaty with the Israelites. From then on, Israel was bound by their promise to spend their time and money and men to defend this city. Huge waste of resources. God had no intention of them protecting this city every time they needed help. How did they get entangled with this burden? "They did not ask the Lord what to do."

How often do we burden ourselves with a new car payment, a more expensive house payment or a credit card bill to be burdened with? Huge waste of our resources. In hindsight, we should have asked the Lord if this was the right decision for this time and place.

This is a tricky statement. We also make promises to help someone or mentor someone or be a part of a committee that meets often. We get hooked by this one statement..." We came because we heard of the great power." We are flattered and we accept. And then we are burdened by keeping that commitment...for a long time.

Keep in mind that God sometimes plans for you to purchase that house or that car and definitely mentor that friend or be on that committee. The key here is did we ask Him ahead of time if this is part of His plan? I have a pet peeve to bring up here. Sometimes people read this blog and assume that they are too busy and assume that God does not want you to commit and they always say no. God did not give me free time so I can sit on the couch and watch TV. Do not have a fear of committing to something.

But in the case of Gibeon, they should not have saddled themselves with this extra burden. God intended them to become a nation that lends and does not borrow. He intended on them to bring salvation through Jesus. But He has specific plans for them just like He has specific plans for each of us. This particular city should have been demolished and not preserved. Do not be deceived by the neighboring temptations that surround you and ask you to commit your time and money. Ask God first.

Set up an Altar

“Joshua wrote these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he found a large stone to be the proof of this agreement. He put the stone under the oak tree near the Lord ’S Holy Tent. Then Joshua said to all the people, “This stone will help you remember what we said today. This stone was here when the Lord was speaking to us today. So this stone will be something that helps you remember what happened today. The stone will be a witness against you. It will stop you from turning against your God.””
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭24:26-27‬ ‭

I really like what Joshua did. He set up a stone. Moses taught him how to do this. On first glance, it seems wrong to build altars. However, you will set up altars, one way or another. We all set up reminders of the things we worship.

I think this is why I write about the things I read in the Bible. It "helps me remember what happened today." It " stops me from turning against God."

Read your Bible everyday! You Version has tons of choices. After you read a few verses, write down what you learned. It helps cement the wisdom that God showed you. Your future will be different depending on which choice you made...what did you decide to worship today?