Let all your things be done with charity. — 1 Corinthians 16:14
If you were like me, you probably thought you knew all about love when you were younger. While that may funny now, love is something that is a desire for any person from a young age. We want to feel loved, want to be loved, and want to love others. Unfortunately, our world perverts the idea of love in many facets.
The concept of love is not the idea that many around our world would have us believe. They want us to believe that to love someone as Christ loved them means that we have to accept them. They want us to believe that we must accept their sin in order to show them love and live out the witness of Christ in front of them. That is simply not true.
Jesus Christ gave us the example to do everything that we do out of love. He said that we should love everyone, but never once did He say that we must be accepting of their sin and refuse to speak out on it. He never said that we should compromise our faith, morals, and integrity so that someone would not be offended by the truth of God.
In 1 Corinthians, Paul reminds the church that everything that they do must be done with charity, or love. In fact, he dedicated an entire chapter to it in chapter 13 and reminds them here in chapter 16 because it is so important. It isn’t that it is easy. Doing things in love can be challenging. It can put us into situations where we may be taken advantage of or mistreated, but it is the desire of God for us.
Just remember the example of Jesus Christ. In everything that you do, do it out of love. That is not to compromise against sin. It is to act in a manner so that everyone involved can see the Savior through you. It will not always be easy, but it is the desire of God.