Love Acts Right
Scripture Reading - 1 Corinthians 13:5 Literal Translation of the Holy Bible (LITV)
(Love) does not behave indecently, does not pursue its own things, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil;
We are studying Thee Person of Love which is God Himself. We are learning that certain attributes of God need to be present in His Children so that we can accurately represent Jesus Christ the Blessed Son of God. We have also learned that certain negative behaviors are not a part of God’s Nature nor are a part of God’s Plan for man. One of the things God is not is one who behaves Himself “unseemly” according to the King Jesus Version of the Holy Bible. The word “unseemly” means to not keep with the accepted protocol, basically to act in an improper manner. This is another way of saying your behavior does not fit the atmosphere you are in. We have all seen people who practice inappropriate behavior and those who know these types of people are hoping that they don’t act up while they are around. To act in a way that is unbecoming brings disgrace (not grace) to the person themselves and also to the people who know them. We don’t ever have to wonder or worry about the Lord Jesus Christ or our Heavenly Father acting disgracefully. The Lord also follows proper protocol because He always puts others first. For example if you are in someone else home don’t criticize their furniture. In life we have seen some people criticize the people they are talking to by saying something negative about a person or place in that other person’s life. This is very distasteful and in some cases it is flat out rude. God doesn’t act that way. The Lord works on the honor principle in the sense that He will always give the other person the benefit of the doubt by thinking first about how the other person might take whatever comes out of His mouth, therefore He keeps His tongue from speaking evil or what could be perceived as evil from the listener. This is exactly why the Holy Bible teaches us to be quick to hear (listen well) and slow to speak (a person of few words) and slow to anger (wrath). Doing things in the same manner as God is what we are calling “acting right”. You have heard the common phrase, “That child was acting-up” when a child is beside himself. This is used when a child is demonstrating ill-mannered behavior. We as Christians should not be accused of acting-up or acting-out when it comes to our conduct. As Believers we represent Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world. There are some people who will only see Jesus Christ through the way we demonstrate Him to be while He is living inside of us. So what we (ihlcc) are trying to say is your behavior before other people is very important. We realize that there are times when no one is physically watching you but we know there are times when people are watching you as a Christian and you are totally unaware of it. We have seen the Name of Jesus suffer shame because someone calls themselves a Christian but acts in a manner that is more reflective of an unbeliever (the ungodly). Since we have the Holy Spirit of God within us it is very possible to display His Fruit (Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance (self-control)). The Major Fruit of the Spirit is Love, therefore we should purpose to act in a loving manner all day and every day. As Believers the testimony we hear from non-believers should not be one of that Christian acts like a hypocrite but rather that Believer is an all-around good and decent person. Of course they will not understand everything we do in public, like praying over our food and/or refusing to drink alcohol but they should be able to see that we “act right” consistently. Which means when we are at work we work hard and are faithful to the boss and the company. When we are among other friends and family members we don’t run people down with our harsh judgmental words. When we are visiting strangers we try as much as possible to live peaceably with them. We never insult people just because they think (or believe) differently than we do. Remember the Holy Bible tells us to help (teach) people in meekness, not arrogantly because we completely understand that without God’s Grace we would know absolutely nothing. Notice 2 Timothy 2:24-25 KJV which states, “And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth”. This means that Love does not act ill-mannered but rather polite and graceful. The Lord has a calm sense about Himself that permeates love, mercy and peace such that no one is able to accuse Him of being a busybody or being pushy. Now you, dear faithful one, go and do likewise. Be humble in heart and teachable in mind by accepting the fact that you are born to Love so keep on loving others by “Acting Right” in their sight and more importantly in the Sight of God our Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus would never bring shame to the Name of His Heavenly Father, so we must not bring shame to the Name of Jesus by acting dishonorably. Therefore we will honor God’s Word (Jesus) and God’s Love in the Person of the Holy Spirit by “acting right” continuously, starting now and lasting into our eternity in Heaven. Amen!