Chronicles of Love, Part II
Last week I began with the first in a series of blogs about "Love" and what it means to live out 1 Corinthians 13 more authentically. I addressed the first 3 verses to begin with, as they lay the ground work in the form of an ultimatum: "love or fail." Verse 4 begins:
"LOVE IS PATIENT..."
My mother often spoke of the "patience of Job" when I was a kid. The phrase was such a household common, I always assumed it was in the Bible (kind of like "spare the rod, spoil the child" or "God helps those that help themselves" you know: "I KNOW it's in the Bible, SOMEWHERE; probably between the books of First Retaliations and Second Opinions"). Oddly enough, the word "patience" is nowhere in the book of Job...go figure.(*) However, I do think that Job is our best example of what Paul is referring to when he says that Love is patient. Unfortunately, we don't commonly think of patience this way.
I went to "www.befunky.com" and uploaded a photo (a rather bizarre representation of myself, yes). I then had the website convert my portrait into a charcoal sketch. Understand, the average artist would need close to thirty minutes to do a semi-decent charcoal sketch like this, but thanks to the wonder of modern technology, "befunky.com" wow'ed me in 4 and a half seconds. The world we now live in does not know how to wait for anything. But the resulting observation is often, "we are SUCH an IMPATIENT society!" (This is where Richard Dawson shouts, "survey says?!?" and a loud buzzer with three red X's on the screen affirm: WRONG ANSWER!!!) Simply being incapable of waiting on something or even waiting on God is NOT what Paul is referring to when He says Love is patient.
It may come as a bit of a shock, but the word "patient" found here in 1 Corinthians actually has nothing to do with "waiting" or "having the ability to wait" at all! To the contrary, there isn't really even an American dictionary that uses the word "waiting" as part of the definition of patience. Actually, historical definitions from the 14th century were much closer in meaning to the usage of the word found in 1 Corinthians 13!
The word here, "patient," comes from the Greek transliterated word, "Makrothumeo" which can be said to have several definitions, such as: to be of a long spirit, not to lose heart / to persevere patiently and bravely in enduring misfortunes and troubles / to be patient in bearing the offenses and injuries of others / to be mild and slow in avenging / to be long-suffering, slow to anger, slow to punish. All of these are very similar to the good ol' Merriam-Webster standard English definition. But, notice the word "wait" is not in the definition, ANYWHERE. "Patience" is not nearly as passive a word as the word "waiting" is.
I say all that to say this: We think patience (and the subsequent Love it portrays) is about simply and humbly WAITING FOR, TOLERATING, OR GETTING THROUGH something or someone. But, I'm confident from Paul's writing that patience is far more about eager anticipation and "follow-through." It's an ACTIVE word, and not a PASSIVE one. Paul actually states that real, genuine Love is willingly suffering and putting yourself through painful circumstances, all the while maintaining a good spirit, continuing to be full of passion and hope. Perhaps, "keeping on the bright side" of things is the best definition for this type of behavior...not letting Satan bring you down through your trials.
My question for you? Who's the last person who wronged you or punished you unnecessarily? Did you maintain your composure, giving them the benefit of the doubt and even carrying their burden with them, for as long as it took? What active steps will you take today to love someone and practice genuine patience?
Here are some ideas:
Listening to your child/children as they unload the joys and struggles of their day on you
Not interrupting a complaining co-worker (or other acquaintance), despite their tendency to constantly use "colorful" language
Resisting the urge to poke fun at someone for a repetitive blunder
Wrapping your arms around the family member who constantly "competes" with you at everything
Giving an unbeliever (or a believer who's doctrinal beliefs are different from yours) room to have their opinions without being defensive or offensive!
This passage certainly doesn't make it easy for us, but the truth is...Jesus never said it would be easy. How will you "suffer long" today? Or better yet, who will you truly "Love" today?
see ya next time,
jeff
(*)For those of you NIV users who are reading Job 6:11 and found the word "patient" there, be wary - the original Hebrew does NOT contain an equivalent for the word "patient" - the NIV writers chose to use that word instead of an alternate for the Hebrew phrase for the "prolonging of life." Most other translations (particularly more linguistically-responsible translations) do not use the word patient in this context.
"LOVE IS PATIENT..."
My mother often spoke of the "patience of Job" when I was a kid. The phrase was such a household common, I always assumed it was in the Bible (kind of like "spare the rod, spoil the child" or "God helps those that help themselves" you know: "I KNOW it's in the Bible, SOMEWHERE; probably between the books of First Retaliations and Second Opinions"). Oddly enough, the word "patience" is nowhere in the book of Job...go figure.(*) However, I do think that Job is our best example of what Paul is referring to when he says that Love is patient. Unfortunately, we don't commonly think of patience this way.
I went to "www.befunky.com" and uploaded a photo (a rather bizarre representation of myself, yes). I then had the website convert my portrait into a charcoal sketch. Understand, the average artist would need close to thirty minutes to do a semi-decent charcoal sketch like this, but thanks to the wonder of modern technology, "befunky.com" wow'ed me in 4 and a half seconds. The world we now live in does not know how to wait for anything. But the resulting observation is often, "we are SUCH an IMPATIENT society!" (This is where Richard Dawson shouts, "survey says?!?" and a loud buzzer with three red X's on the screen affirm: WRONG ANSWER!!!) Simply being incapable of waiting on something or even waiting on God is NOT what Paul is referring to when He says Love is patient.It may come as a bit of a shock, but the word "patient" found here in 1 Corinthians actually has nothing to do with "waiting" or "having the ability to wait" at all! To the contrary, there isn't really even an American dictionary that uses the word "waiting" as part of the definition of patience. Actually, historical definitions from the 14th century were much closer in meaning to the usage of the word found in 1 Corinthians 13!
The word here, "patient," comes from the Greek transliterated word, "Makrothumeo" which can be said to have several definitions, such as: to be of a long spirit, not to lose heart / to persevere patiently and bravely in enduring misfortunes and troubles / to be patient in bearing the offenses and injuries of others / to be mild and slow in avenging / to be long-suffering, slow to anger, slow to punish. All of these are very similar to the good ol' Merriam-Webster standard English definition. But, notice the word "wait" is not in the definition, ANYWHERE. "Patience" is not nearly as passive a word as the word "waiting" is.
I say all that to say this: We think patience (and the subsequent Love it portrays) is about simply and humbly WAITING FOR, TOLERATING, OR GETTING THROUGH something or someone. But, I'm confident from Paul's writing that patience is far more about eager anticipation and "follow-through." It's an ACTIVE word, and not a PASSIVE one. Paul actually states that real, genuine Love is willingly suffering and putting yourself through painful circumstances, all the while maintaining a good spirit, continuing to be full of passion and hope. Perhaps, "keeping on the bright side" of things is the best definition for this type of behavior...not letting Satan bring you down through your trials.
My question for you? Who's the last person who wronged you or punished you unnecessarily? Did you maintain your composure, giving them the benefit of the doubt and even carrying their burden with them, for as long as it took? What active steps will you take today to love someone and practice genuine patience?
Here are some ideas:
Listening to your child/children as they unload the joys and struggles of their day on you
Not interrupting a complaining co-worker (or other acquaintance), despite their tendency to constantly use "colorful" language
Resisting the urge to poke fun at someone for a repetitive blunder
Wrapping your arms around the family member who constantly "competes" with you at everything
Giving an unbeliever (or a believer who's doctrinal beliefs are different from yours) room to have their opinions without being defensive or offensive!
This passage certainly doesn't make it easy for us, but the truth is...Jesus never said it would be easy. How will you "suffer long" today? Or better yet, who will you truly "Love" today?
see ya next time,
jeff
(*)For those of you NIV users who are reading Job 6:11 and found the word "patient" there, be wary - the original Hebrew does NOT contain an equivalent for the word "patient" - the NIV writers chose to use that word instead of an alternate for the Hebrew phrase for the "prolonging of life." Most other translations (particularly more linguistically-responsible translations) do not use the word patient in this context.
Oops -- "Chronicles of Love".
ReplyDeleteDidn't the Steve Miller Band mention this series of posts in "The Joker"?
Ashamedly, I'm just now reading each of the "Love Chronicles" posts. This one is a heavy-hitter. I like the fact that you provided spcific examples. That takes it from some realm of theory and slaps it right into my personal life.
ReplyDeleteThis was an eye-opener and was where it started hitting home: "...there isn’t really even an American dictionary that uses the word “waiting” as part of the definition of patience."
Great post Jeff! In the past few years of my life I've found patience to perhaps be nothing more (on some days) than refusing to quit and give up. To continue on with a loving and brave heart took extreme patience!
ReplyDelete