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Love Believes all things 1 Corinthians 13:7

believes all things – NASB, ESV, NKJV

never loses faith – NLT

always trusts – NIV

is ever ready to believe the best of every person – Amplified Bible

 


Don’t know about all of you, but I really like the way the Amplified bible puts it. ‘Is ever ready to believe the best of every person’. What’s crazy is that I have been talking to a few people about that exact thinking lately.  I have a few friends who very much exemplify this, so much so that it is amazing to me.  Then there is me…I see a guy out country western dancing who is being friendly with my friend and instead of assuming ‘Oh he’s a nice guy’, my mother bear instincts kick in and I am immediately thinking he is a scum bag trying to manipulate my friend so I sit there and look for any and every red flag I can. Call it protective, or call it cynical, but the degree I take it to is definitely not ‘ready to believe the best about everyone.’ Yes we need to be on guard in those situations, especially when a stranger is involved, but probably not to the point of me playing through my self defense class in my head.

Solid Rock Church did a sermon on 1 Corinthians 13 and I love how they broke down this verse:

“Love believes the best about others, because AGAPE love is optimistic. It isn’t cynical or suspicious; it gives people the benefit of the doubt. It believes the best about them as long as it is possible to do so because it always trusts.” – Phil Comer

The assumption here is that you should marry someone who is trustworthy, make that a huge prerequisite. This also goes for when you are already in marriage, with your family, with your friends. I think that if we all really tried to assume the best about someone it would eradicate a large number of misunderstandings, would allow for grace to enter in when the person does fumble and would just make for overall more peaceful relationships.

As I have mentioned in previous blogs, the World Race taught us that when a conflict arises to look at what happened as separate from the identity of the person. Just because someone is grouchy one night after having a bad day does not make them ‘a grouchy person’. If we were to assume the worst in them, be cynical, not believe they have a good heart, we could jump to the thought of ‘man, that person is grouchy and just not a good person, I don’t want to be around them.’ But when we love with Jesus’ love we see the circumstance and do not define them by it. We are called to instead view them in the best possible light, assume they have the best intentions, and trust them as long as it is possible to. Will this cause us to trust someone who is being untrustworthy sometimes, perhaps? But a life free of constant worry and distrust is far worth the risk. No one likes being constantly doubted for their word, their intentions and their actions, and it really isn’t fun constantly worrying. And you personally, if you did something that hurt someone that you really didn’t mean to do or seriously regretted it later, you wouldn’t want them holding it against you or associating it with their character and identity instead of just a fluke from the happenstance.
Challenge of the week: No matter what happens this week, no matter how rude, distrustful, negative, hurtful or harsh someone is work to kind the best in that person. Try to believe in them, trust them, and see who God has made them to be instead of the circumstances. If you are getting anxious that someone is being untrustworthy to you, my challenge to you is to relax, give them the benefit of the doubt, and let things play out. Don’t stress and ask them a bunch of questions or raid their text messages, just let it be. Obviously is the situation is bad or dangerous have discernment and protect yourself, but if the situation is safe, just let it be and see what happens.

God I love you so much and thank you that we can trust that you will always be faithful and that we can count on you. I pray that all of us would see others through your eyes, your eyes of Agape never ending love. Lord that we will not focus on the circumstances around us and the situations that come up, but instead on the image of you that you placed in each one of your children. God help any of my friends, including myself, to root out any cynicism or unwarranted suspicious tendency’s that are not of you but are only there to cause separation and conflict. Lord I love you and trust my dear friends and my own heart into your hands