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Love is Not Arrogant

We have learned in 1 Corinthians 13:4 that “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast”. Today we will finish out verse 4 with “it is not arrogant”. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines arrogant as “exaggerating or disposed to exaggerate one’s own worth or importance often by an overbearing manner” or “showing an offensive attitudes of superiority : proceeding from or characterized by arrogance.” It  looks like it is similar to boasting, except that instead of using words, arrogance used actions. It is still bringing attention to ourselves instead of to God. 

Many of us know that boasting is wrong and have disciplined our tongues enough not to say things that are boastful. The problem is that simply not saying things that are boastful doesn’t take care of our desire for recognition or superiority, and it comes out in our attitude. We might not be telling others how good we are, but is it brewing in our heads? What we try to keep inside of us, always comes out through our attitude and actions. 

Arrogance makes it hard for us to truly love one another as we are told. It can make patience look like we think we are martyrs. It makes acts of kindness not about love but about how good we think we are, and it can cause resentment in the person who is one the receiving end. Our arrogance can drive people away from ourselves, and, more importantly, from God.

Daily To-Do Focus:

Today, I am going to be reviewing the list of things to-do (and not to-do) as I go about my day. I am going to look for opportunities to be patient and kind. I will be examining myself to make sure that I am not being boastful or arrogant, and I will ask God to help me be honest with myself as He highlights areas where I am still full of myself. I am going to look up scripture about arrogance to help me fine tune my perspective on it. I will endeavor to be mindful of lifting God up and not myself.