LOVE LETS IT GO

One verse in the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13:5 tells us the ways that love deals with difficult people. It says “LOVE IS NOT RUDE. LOVE DOES NOT DEMAND ITS OWN WAY. LOVE IS NOT IRRITABLE, AND LOVE KEEPS NO RECORD OF WHEN IT HAS BEEN WRONGED.”
One of the ways that God builds your love is he tests it by putting you around unlovely people.
WHAT FORM OF RUDENESS IRRITATES YOU THE MOST? Here are some examples:
o People who call you and then say, “Who is this?” Before they identify themselves.
o People who hoot in traffic jams that are going no where.
o People who light their cigarette then hold it towards you instead of smoking.
o People who cheat at the ten-item grocery express line.
o People who come from the opposite direction and steal the parking spot you’ve been patiently waiting for.
How do you respond in love to difficult people?
The number one form of rudeness in our society today is INTERRUPTING PEOPLE. Not listening. It is rude to not listen. It is rude to not let somebody finish their sentence.
Look what the Bible says about this – PROVERBS 18:13 (MSG) “ANSWERING BEFORE LISTENING IS BOTH STUPID AND RUDE.” Love listens and love is tactful. There’s a little equation I learned:
RIGHT + RUDE = WRONG.
It doesn’t matter if you’re right. If you’re rude about it nobody’s going to care what you have to say. They’re immediately going to get defensive. So you do it in a gentle and a loving way. Not in a harsh or a cruel way.
PROVERBS 15:4 (NLT) “GENTLE WORDS BRING LIFE AND HEALTH. A DECEITFUL TONGUE CRUSHES THE SPIRIT.” I love the way it says this in the MESSAGE PARAPHRASE. It says “KIND WORDS HEAL AND HELP. BUT CUTTING WORDS WOUND AND MAIM.”
When people hurt us we have two natural tendencies. REMEMBER IT AND RETALIATE. What do you do? You don’t talk to other people. You talk to God and then you talk to that person.
The Bible says MARK 11:25 (AMP) “WHENEVER YOU STAND PRAYING, IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING AGAINST ANYONE, FORGIVE HIM AND LET IT DROP. LEAVE IT. LET IT GO. IN ORDER THAT YOUR FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN MAY ALSO FORGIVE YOU YOUR OWN FAILINGS AND SHORTCOMINGS AND LET THEM DROP.”
Just ignore it. Let it go. But you can’t ignore it until first you face it and forgive it. Then you can ignore it. And you let it go. Love lets it go.
JOB 18:4 (TEV) says “YOU ARE ONLY HURTING YOURSELF WITH YOUR ANGER.”
1 CORINTHIANS 13:5 “LOVE DOESN’T KEEP A RECORD OF WRONGS.”
I don’t know who you need to forgive but I do know today’s the day. I want you to think of the people who’ve hurt you in your life and I want you to let them off the hook. Love lets it go. Love forgives.