TOO HELPFUL?

TOO HELPFUL?

READ:
1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Search me, O God, and know
my heart; try me, and know my
anxieties; and see if there is any
wicked way in me. -Psalm 139:23-24

Is it possible to be too helpful?  Can our helpfulness actually make life more difficult for others?  Yes, if we're being bothersome, intrusive, smothering, manipulative, or controlling.  If the help we are giving is driven only by our own anxiety we may be just trying to help ourselves.

How then can we know if our heart and acts of service are truly symbolic of God's unconditional love?  How can we love from pure motives?  (Proverbs 16:2; 21:2; 1 Corinthians 4:5).

In prayer we can ask God to show us any way we are hurting or hindering others (Psalm 139:23-24).  We can ask God to help us show love that "suffers long and is kind;...is not puffed up; does not behave rudely does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil" (1 Corinthians 13:4-5).

Our efforts to help others, especially those we love the most, will never be completely free from anxiety.  But we can, by God's grace, begin to love freely with no strings attached, as God Himself loves.  The test, of course, and the measure of our progress, is the way we react when our "helpfulness" is unrecognized or goes unrewarded (see Luke 14:12-14).

Lord, help us to love with pure motives and for the good or others.  Help us to love unconditionally, expecting nothing in return. -David Roper

Please help me, Lord, in all I do
To act and think with motives true;
And by Your love reveal to me
Those sins that only You can see.  -D. De Haan
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In our desire to help, let's love with pure motives.

INSIGHT
Paul's letter to the church in Corinth addresses a church that was beset by a number of internal struggles.  The issues Paul addresses in this letter range from proper sexual conduct (5:1-13; 7:1-40) to lawsuits among believers (6:1-11) to issues relating to idolatry (8:1-11:1) to abuse of the Lord's Supper (11:17-34) and to the proper use of spiritual gifts (12:1-14:40).  Today's text on the necessity of love is bookended by two sections on the nature and proper use of spiritual gifts.  All of our Christian activity is to be characterized by self-sacrificial love (John 13:35; Romans 12:10; Philippians 2:3-4), particularly the use of our spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12-14).

Have a blessed day.
God Our Creator's Love Always
Unity & Peace