Has anyone noticed that love is not easily angered. This is an emotion that is almost indulged in our day. Anger can arise in someone over something as simple as telling the truth when it is uncomfortable to hear.
All of the attributes we see listed in the above verse describes what love is not. That alone these days would be seen as negative for its "its not" phrases.
Why do we speak about love as "what is not"? It is my observation that "what love is not" is what we see most of in our world today. It is beneficial to those seeking to understand love to see what it is not because this is what is being demonstrated in our world today more than what love is according to the Bible.
We have many people thinking it is good to boast about themselves, to be proud of who they think they are, whether or not its true as long as they think so.
Boasting and pride dishonors others, it elevates self and personal desire to be noticed above the needs and desires of others.
"Love never keeps records of wrongs" shows a heart that is willing to forgive when someone confesses their sin. I have seen narcissists listen to a confession only to demean and mock the one who confessed as though one more beat down was going to make the confessor a little more sorry than they are already.
To harshly admonish a person for having done a wrong when they have confessed and changed is the worst sort of monstrous pride. It shows that the one who administers the emotional beating actually thinks they have never sinned and have never needed to confess. The sorry thing about these people is that they never do confess, ever.
Those who are born again confess regularly, even for the small attitudes and the wrong responses. Not only this but they confess openly without being caught or prompted to do so.
I had so much sin in my life before I was born again I had no dilutions that I was better than others. It was obvious to me at a crucial point in my life that I needed the Savior. This is when I confessed that I was a sinner in need of Christ Who could save me from my sin and from hell.
After Christ responded to me when I confessed and believed He paid for my sin on the cross, He began the cleansing process of a lifetime.
Sadly I see so many "Christians" who cannot confess to those they have harmed nor can they confess to God. God gives us a description of these people in His word.
Luke 18:9-14
The Pharisee and the Publican
"9 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt:
10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’
13 But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’
14 I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
There is another side to this lack of love for God that seems almost opposite of the parable. The person who says "I am under grace so sin doesn't matter anymore." This person pridefully expects to be forgiven for sin they are not sorry for committing while continuing in that sin with a great deal of pride at how much they can grieve the heart of God and expect Him to cover them in His blood.
God does not cover in His blood the one who loves their sin, the one who remains arrogant and entitled to sin all they please without sorrow over it.
As we see in the parable in Luke, the Pharisee did not go away justified, that is his sin having been paid for. He remained arrogant, refused to admit he was a sinner, God did not cover him in the blood. The Pharisee was not forgiven because he would not admit his sinfulness. There was no restored relationship with God in the Pharisee's life.
However the Publican was justified and forgiven because of his heart condition of brokenness over his sinfulness. He was made whole and right with God for his deep desire to be cleansed by Christ. His relationship with God was restored.
1 John 1:9 "
"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Those who boast about how good they think they are will not be blessed by God with wisdom or the love. These people have no love for anyone but themselves. When we know what we had to confess and how much God pardoned us we have compassion for those who are confessing.
It is common for those who think they are very good to often make inaccurate judgments about others to elevate themselves. They will take an action out of context and judge a person based on that one act that wasn't even clear to them as to its meaning. These judgments are sin and must be confessed if the gossip monger comes to the realization that they have sinned in their rush to judgment based on little to no information.
I have noticed too that those who are jealous and contemptuous will choose to see actions the way they wish to judge them to justify their contempt. This is the mentality of the Pharisee who wished to see himself as pious and perfect.
There are false confessions too that God does not honor with forgiveness. Those confessions that come because someone was caught and cannot wiggle their way out of the problem they have caused for themselves, this is a confession that is despised by God.
Judges in court rooms see these false confessions every day. They see the false humility and the manipulation on the part of those who hope their pretense of confession will get them off or lesson their sentence.
We cannot fool God and often judges in courtrooms are not fooled either. God expects honest and open confession without any expectation of a reduction in our sentence. We are willing to take the consequences of our sin whether it be temporary or lifelong.
We ought never to complain about the consequences of our actions when we deserved worse, that is death and hell.
The old saying "confession is good for the soul" is as accurate as it gets as we ponder the passage in 1 John 1:9. When we confess with a broken and contrite heart, without expectations of our consequences being removed, then is when God will cleanse us.
God's cleansing is a deep cleaning of the soul that removes the desire to get away with sin replacing it with the desire to continue our walk better than before, never committing that sin again.
Those who think they do not need cleansing because they are covered in the blood, will not be cleansed and very likely were never born again. Those who have confessed and hate sin don't want to repeat the same sins again. They want to be done with them, moving on toward a little more holiness.
When someone rages at their accuser for exposing their sin, this person is not repentant or humble. They are prideful and will not be forgiven for that sin. Those who do not confess their sin think they are safe because they follow certain rules, the rules of their own choosing, often not even Biblical rules or standards but rather whatever they think they want to observe to make themselves appear righteous.
Romans 3:20 "20 Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the Law. For the Law merely brings awareness of sin. "
When we come to Christ His way without arrogance that we deserve anything, then He will cleanse us.
Psalm 51:2
"Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin."
Psalm 51:10
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me."
The desire of the born again believer is to be continually cleansed to grow in holiness.
1 Peter 2
As Newborn Babes
1 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,
2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,
3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.
As Living Stones
4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6 For this is contained in Scripture:"
The humble man loves to see someone confess, this man will not give the confessor another beat down, he will rather rejoice with the one who has a broken heart willing to be open and honest about their sin. Confession is worthy of rejoicing.
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