1 Corinthians 13:3-5
The Voice
3 I could give all that I have to feed the poor, I could surrender my body to be burned as a martyr, but if I do not live in love, I gain nothing by my selfless acts.
Paul boils it all down for the believers in Corinth. Religious people often spend their time practicing rituals, projecting dogma, and going through routines that might look like Christianity on the outside but that lack the essential ingredient that brings all of it together—love! It is a loving God who birthed creation and now pursues a broken people in the most spectacular way. That same love must guide believers, so faith doesn’t appear to be meaningless noise.
4 Love is patient; love is kind. Love isn’t envious, doesn’t boast, brag, or strut about. There’s no arrogance in love; 5 it’s never rude, crude, or indecent—it’s not self-absorbed. Love isn’t easily upset. Love doesn’t tally wrongs
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1 Corinthians 13:3-5
New International Version
3 If I give all I possess to the poor(A) and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[a](B) but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient,(C) love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.(D) 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,(E) it is not easily angered,(F) it keeps no record of wrongs.(G)
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 13:3 Some manuscripts body to the flames
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