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For many years I read 1 Corinthians 13,The Love Chapter, and it just
made me feel good. The wording in the King James Version is beautiful to me. I
like the word Charity because it sounds more like what it is, after all we use
the word love so loosely. We love each other, but we also love McDonalds! Maybe
the word should be sharity. In churches there is the matter of being filled
with the Holy Spirit. It defines what is in your heart, or soul if you will.
The Hebrew word for soul is psuche. We get our word psyche from it. So, those
things which we have filled our mind with, give direction to our heart
(feelings). Our souls express all that
is in us. It reveals our true spirit. I would like so much to say that I have
in me all that Paul speaks of in this chapter of love, but I can’t. I seek and
have sought answers from those I see as wise. I can see the picture that is
there for me, but I only understand a small part of it. Nevertheless, one day we will all have these
qualities. That will happen in the presence of perfection. This is how
1Corinthians 13:4-10 of the love chapter reads;
4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not;
charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 doth not behave itself
unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6
rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7 beareth all things, believeth
all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 8 Charity never faileth:
but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues,
they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 9 For we
know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect is
come, then that which is in part shall be done away. (Authorized King James
Version)
To look at this chapter a different way, I turned it inside
out. I was wondering, what if I try to see things another way? When I did that,
it seemed to me that it is what we think and what we feel that matters.
However, what we think is based in what we feel and what we feel is affected by
the lives of everyone around us. Maya Angelou said it in a way that was so profound,
that ironically, I will never forget it. She was speaking of the things she had
learned.
“'I've learned that people will forget what you said, people
will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them
feel.” Now for the other side of The
Love Chapter.
.4 Hatefulness has no patience and is not compassionate;
hatefulness is jealous; and puts itself above others. Hatefulness is
prideful,5 and behaves rudely, seeks out
answers only for self, is easily provoked, thinks wicked thoughts; 6 rejoices
in injustice, and lies; 7 It has no tolerance or empathy for others, does not
believe in God, anyone, or anything, has no faith, and is impatient with
everything. 8 Hatefulness always fails: and where there be predictions, they
too shall fail; languages, shall cease; and comprehension and understanding,
shall vanish away. 9 Hatefulness thinks it is wise and all-knowing and can
foretell matters without error. It will not know when that which is perfect is
come because of its great vanity.10 Nevertheless, when that which is perfect
has come, hatefulness will be done away with.
In a commentary, Matthew Henry explained it like this;
Charity is an utter enemy to selfishness; it does not desire
or seek its own praise, or honor, or profit, or pleasure. Not that charity
destroys all regard to ourselves, or that the charitable man should neglect
himself and all his interests. But charity never seeks its own to the hurt of
others, or to neglect others. It ever prefers the welfare of others to its private
advantage. It is a Divine principle. Does this Divine love dwell in our hearts?
Has this principle guided us into becoming behavior to all men? Are we willing
to lay aside selfish objects and aims? Here is a call to watchfulness,
diligence, and prayer.
With that having been said, it is worth looking at what
selfishness really is. In an article entitled “What causes selfishness”
M.Farouk Radwan, MSc had this to say
Selfishness is a sign of weakness, the selfish person fears to
give some of his time, money or effort to others because he is afraid of the
consequences that might happen on making such a sacrifice. The person who is
always busy and who never gives few minutes of his time to the people in need
is actually afraid of wasting his time because of believing that he has no
control over his life. When that person gives away some of his time he feels
insecure because of not being sure whether he will succeed in completing his
own tasks or not. If that person didn’t fear to lose control of his life or if
he was confident enough to believe that giving five minutes away won’t hurt his
progress then he wouldn’t have been selfish.
Now… we see Michael. He has said all of that in only a few
words. I am always so amazed by him, and I wonder why I did not understand what
he was teaching before. I suppose I was not prepared to learn what he knew even
as a child. Here is a verse to “Heal the World”.
This video is solely here for educational purposes. We are addressing the power of love and unity, the physiological and psychological effects as they relate to spirituality. It is not my desire to disregard the copyright, and I acknowledge that this is not my video.
There's a place in your heart And I know that it is love And this place could be much Brighter than tomorrow And if you really try You'll find there's no need to cry In this place you'll feel There's no hurt or sorrow There are ways to get there If you care enough for the living Make a little space, make a better place
This video is solely here for educational purposes. We are addressing the power of love and unity, the physiological and psychological effects as they relate to spirituality. It is not my desire to disregard the copyright, and I acknowledge that this is not my video.
There's a place in your heart And I know that it is love And this place could be much Brighter than tomorrow And if you really try You'll find there's no need to cry In this place you'll feel There's no hurt or sorrow There are ways to get there If you care enough for the living Make a little space, make a better place
Michael says that there is a place in our hearts and it is
love. Well, scripture says that we can love with our hearts. In fact it is a
commandment. It is interesting that he said “this place could be brighter than
tomorrow. If you are a person who is fearful, tomorrow is not a place you want
to be in. Yesterday is gone, and you are in the present thinking about the
problems tomorrow may bring. Scripture says Matthew 6:34Authorized (AKJV) 34 “Take
therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the
things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof”. So even back then people
saw tomorrow as a dark place. They were told they had enough evil to deal with
today. So, what Michael said is true, that place will be brighter than
tomorrow. Here are some scriptures that address loving with all your heart; We will address the meaning of love as well..
A) Deuteronomy 6:5 and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with
all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. (OT)
B) Matthew 22:37-39 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the
first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself. (NT)
C)4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth
not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 doth not behave itself
unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6
rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7 beareth all things,
believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 8 Charity never faileth
We know that the selfish person is one that is fearful. Our
Love Chapter, 1 Cor. 13 talked of nothing but love. Love casteth out fear. If
we cast out fear, we have made space in our hearts for love. It’s like anything
else. Suppose you no longer liked your living room, and you donated it to a
charity. Well your living room would just be empty. You would be able to put
something else in that space, something that you really liked. It’s the same
way with fear in our hearts. With fear gone, we are not tormented (worried or unhappy). We
now have a little space, we can fill it with love, and it will be better
place indeed. No torment, a brighter day. A little space and a better place.
Love is real. There really is a place in your heart.
Research by the Institute for Heart Math in California has shown that the heart
is a powerful generator of electromagnetic energy: The heart's electrical field
is about 60 times greater in amplitude than the electrical activity generated
by the brain. Like a radio it sends out wavelengths that connect with the
wavelengths of the hearts of those around them. It creates a love connection,
so…love is more real than many of us know. We can love our neighbors.
In regard to the article “Agape, Personal Love, & World
Healing: Why the love that will really heal the world is personal love by David
Truman” The question put to Truman was how can we heal the world. His answer
made perfect sense.
“Just as world hunger is solved one child at a time, people
are healed individually, one by one. So, just as we will end world hunger one
person at a time, we will end love-starvation one person at a time. If we are
to heal the humanity, we must love personally, not just universally. We must
commit our love, and focus it.
‘But there are so many people in the world! How can we
possibly save the world unless we can love people in large batches?
Here's how: Love someone, and heal that one. Then that one
will love and heal someone else. The chain continues to infinity, because
surely, anyone who is truly fulfilled in love, by love, can and will with love,
heal others.”
Now, this article could go on forever. However, Michael has
so much knowledge that he feeds it to us in small bites. He sings us parables,
so that we can understand. In his song Jam, his words ae very poignant.
“Nation to nation, all the world must come together Face the
problems that we see then maybe somehow we can work it out I asked my neighbor
for a favor, she said later What has come of all the people, have we lost love
of what it's about?”
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