Doing Everything Out of Love

If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient. Love is kind. It is not jealous, it is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

1 Corinthians 13:1-8

Chapter 13 of 1st Corinthians is one of the best-known Bible passages. St. Paul's words on love carry a resonance down through the ages. Many brides and grooms choose this passage as a wedding reading and rightfully so. The love he speaks of is the love which all married couples should aspire to, but that love is not limited only to those who are married. Jesus gave us the great commandment, to "Love God and Love our neighbor as yourself." As Christians, our fundamental task is to love one another however and wherever we find them.

The first part of this scripture passage is especially demanding. St. Paul tells us that we can do the most amazing and generous things, but if we do them for the wrong reason, they are of little value. Love needs to inform our every action. It needs to be the reason behind everything that we do. Sometimes, that can be very challenging. Sometimes the most loving thing to do isn't exactly clear.

In parenting, love can require different things at different times and with different children. Sometimes love requires a hug and a kiss to make a problem all better. At other times, love requires setting limits and doling out punishments when those limits are violated. Sometimes love requires holding on tightly. At other times, it requires letting go and allowing your child to make a mistake he can learn from. It can be very difficult to know which time is which.

In our dealings with friends and family, love can help us to keep our mouth shut so that we don't cause harm to anyone. Other times, love means we need to speak up and help talk someone we care about out of a bad course of action.

In facing larger issues in our community and world such as homelessness, poverty, hunger, and war, love can mean working with others to find a solution and respecting those whose opinions of how to fix these problems differ from our own. Love can mean being generous with our material resources or respecting the homeless person who crosses our path on the street. It can mean putting a donation in a tin cup or choosing to help through established agencies. It can mean supporting a soldier while at the same time protesting a war.

Yes, love sometimes means making difficult choices when the way is not always clear. St. Paul tells us, however, that as long as we do make our choices out of love, we are on the right path. We do the best we can and we have to trust that love and God in heaven will help it all turn out the way it should.