Posts Tagged: usefulness

“The Helpfulness of Love”

On November 14, 2020 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“1Cor. 13:4   Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (English Standard Version)

What is love, anyway?  Sorry to ask such a simple question, but I really would like to know.  Hey, what can I say?  I’m a beginner!

According to the Lexicon of the New Testament, the word used for second characteristic of real love is part of a configuration of related words (“χρηστεύομαι, χρηστός, χρηστότης, chresteuomai, chrestos, and chrestotes”) that can be translated with a variety of English words: “to be good, kind, benevolent;, useful, serviceable, good, benevolent, favorable; usefulness, good quality, goodness”

The word is often translated “kind” in English translations.  However, I was especially struck by the word “useful” as one of the nuances of the Greek word.  Love is useful!  Huh!

Furthermore, this word is a verb, an action word.  Usefulness is not a quality.  It is something we do.  Indeed, all the “qualities” of love that are listed in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 are verbs.  And love itself in the New Testament is often a verb.  I suspect that this tallies with much in our own experience.

One more nitty-gritty grammatical item: The verb for “being useful” is in the present tense.  In Greek, the present tense suggests ongoing, repetitive action.  According to Paul, usefulness isn’t spasm or a sprint.  It is being useful over the long haul.  Real usefulness is a marathon.  

When I think of my mom, I think of the word “love”, but I also think of the word “useful”.  Mom served.  She served me, dad, my brothers and sister, neighbors, people she liked, and the very few people she didn’t like.

I think of my wife, and I think of the words “love” and “usefulness”.  She serves me and anybody else who needs serving, and will allow her to do so.  As I write this post, she is serving her mom who is confined to a bed and is not always easy to serve.

So, my affirmation for today is as follows: “Today, by God’s grace, I am serving at least three other people in some small way.  I am also gratefully receiving all the blessings that God and other people have for me.”

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