Episode 862 True Love
[00:00:00] Scott Maderer: [00:00:00] Thanks for joining me on episode 862 of the inspired stewardship podcast.
[00:00:07] Frazer Rice: [00:00:07] I'm Frazer rice, author of wealth. Actually, I challenge you to invest in yourself, invest in others, develop your influence and impact the world by using your time, your talent and your treasures to live out your calling, having the right relationship with all of your gifts is the key to doing this one way to be inspired to do that is to listen to this, the inspired stewardship podcast with my friend, Scott Mader.
[00:00:31]Scott Maderer: [00:00:31] it happens. That's what people call falling out of love. It's really not falling out of love in terms of the emotion. Instead, it's about stopping the action because love is an action. This is why you can love imperfect people. And you can love, even though you are in perfect. Because perfect love doesn't require.
[00:00:57] Perfect people. Welcome. And [00:01:00] thank you for joining us on the inside. Aspired stewardship podcasts. If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be, then you must learn to use your time, your talent and your treasures for your true calling in the inspired stewardship podcast, we'll will learn to invest in yourself.
[00:01:18] Invest in others and develop your influence so that you okay. Impact the work.
[00:01:25]In today's spiritual foundation episode about investing in others. I talk with you about why true love isn't what the movies say it is. I talk about what the Bible says about true love in first Corinthians chapter 13, verses four through eight. And I also share how thinking that love is perfect and believing that people are perfect.
[00:01:45] Aren't the same thing. True love is one of those things that you hear about in popular culture all the time. You read books about it, you see it in movies, the hallmark movie of the week, where they show the people falling [00:02:00] in love as it snows and each of those things. And especially when they show it as sudden love that comes fully and completely in a moment, the falling in love at first sight kinds of things seems to be a very popular message.
[00:02:14] In popular culture about what love is, but the fact is that love is one of those things. That's talked about a lot in the Bible. It's not the most talked about subject, but it's in that top five. And the truth is it's core of understanding God and living a good Christian life. The truth is that love is of God and God is a love.
[00:02:42] So love is a fundamental characteristic of God and what God does and the message that God sins and the influence that God has over each of us. You can have love for friends and family. You can have romantic love that we have for other people. And you [00:03:00] can talk about all of these different flavors of love you.
[00:03:04] You've probably heard that there's different words in Greek for different kinds of love. And all of these are talked about in the Bible. We all want this fairy tale ending, where we live happily ever after we fall in love with someone at first sight. And then it becomes the true love of our life that lasts forever.
[00:03:25] And even that's talked about in the Bible. But one of the most beloved passages from the Bible is first Corinthians chapter 13, verses four through eight, which says, and you'll hear it quoted at marriages. And all the time is love is patient love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast.
[00:03:45] It is not proud. It is not rude. It is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, [00:04:00] always perseveres love, never fails. These are really the characteristics of true love.
[00:04:08] And they're the characteristics that we're asked to decide to put out into the world as Christians, because we're following Christ, who is the representation of that true love that is fundamental. To the belief that we have recognized that love here is not being described as an emotion. It's not about falling in love instead.
[00:04:35] It's an act of devotion. It's about what we do, not how we. Feel, if you truly have devotion for others, then you will act in the ways that were described. And first Corinthians, you will do that with your spouse. You will do that with your friends. You will do that with your family. You will do that with other people.
[00:04:56] And over time, that leads [00:05:00] to love, commitment and devotion, whether it's between friends, whether it's with your spouse, it doesn't matter, but this isn't the kind of fall in love in the movies. Love that's displayed in film and literature. It's stead. It's the kind of love that really lasts. It's the kind of love that recognizes that love is perfect, but people aren't.
[00:05:26] That's what allows us to forgive others. Whenever mistakes are made, that's what allows us to not be angered. And not hold that anger and hold a grudge. That's what allows us to continue to act in a loving way, even when we're frustrated or tired or upset. And the truth is none of us ever do this perfectly.
[00:05:50] We are constantly on a journey towards perfection, but never arriving at that destination because as people we are not [00:06:00] perfect. And we need to recognize that not just in others, but also in ourselves. This is why this idea of falling out of love is really done by acting out of love. You're no longer acting in those acts of devotion.
[00:06:16] And when that happens, You move away from the loving relationship. And when that happens, that's what people call falling out of love. It's really not falling out of love in terms of the emotion. Instead, it's about stopping the action because love is an action. This is why you can love in perfect people.
[00:06:40] And you can love, even though you are in perfect because perfect love doesn't require. Perfect people. Thanks for listening.
[00:06:50]thanks so much for listening to the inspired stewardship podcast. As a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to not just sit [00:07:00] back and passively listen, but act on what you've heard and find a way to live your calling. If you enjoy this episode, do me a favor, go over to facebook.com/inspired stewardship and like our Facebook page and market that you'd like to get notifications from us so that we can connect with you on Facebook and make sure that we're serving you to the best of our abilities with time and tips there until next time, invest your time.
[00:07:37] Your talent and your treasures develop your influence and impact the world. .