Truth Without Love

Written on 07/26/2022
Christian Dunn

Verse: 1 Corinthians 8:1-3

But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. 2 Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. 3 But whoever loves God is known by God.

Thoughts
This verse hits hard I think. I think Christians in America have gotten themselves in trouble for the last 50 years for leading with what they know instead of leading with love. Rather than loving someone who isn't a Christian right where they are, we would rather tell them what we know about how they have to fix their lives. Rather than love someone unconditionally, we would rather judge them.

See, sometimes you can be so wrong, even when you are technically right. We can know the correct stuff about God, say the correct stuff about believing in God, and be right about what is sin and what isn't sin: but if we don't have love, it's worthless!

Paul says this just a few chapters later:

 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:2)

Without love, "those who think they know something do not know as they ought to know." In other words, you might be right about something, but you if don't handle it in love, or speak it in love, or serve that person in love, even though you are "right", you are actually "wrong."

Have you ever used the truth to hurt someone? This is why Jesus came "full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). He was right. But he was also fully loving about it. 

Let's be on our guard against pride and judgmentalism that tend to grow when we are more concerned about being right than we are about being loving. And let's let God teach us to love others who might be in the wrong as he has loved us when we've been in the wrong.

Prayer
Thank you that you love me unconditionally. Teach me to love like you do!