Nothing Without Love

I Corinthians 1-3: 1)And now I will show you the most excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but have not love, I am a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2)If I have the gift of prophesy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3)If I give all I posses to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Every time I clean the house from top to bottom, I always make sure my mom knows. If she doesn't notice right away, I will point stuff out "nonchalantly". I will bring her to the kitchen if she doesn't go right in when she gets home. I feel so proud because I have done something good. The funny thing is, I am not doing it for my mom, but for my own self-gratification. I should be doing it out of love for my mom and really wanting to serve her. It is always so easy to do thing for "other people" and really be doing it for yourself. I find myself doing this kind of thing all the time. The thing is, it doesn't mean nearly as much to the person unless you are really doing it for them. It's like getting a gift from somebody in your family that only got it for you so that they could somehow benefit from it. They act as if they are loving you by getting it for you, but they really aren't. How fun is that? All of the things that we do are pointless unless they are done out of love. All of the gifts that we give aren't good unless they are given out of love. We can do so many good things and help so many people out in our lifetime, but unless we do it unto the Lord and are really loving people through our actions, they are meaningless. I know that I have to really think about this and challenge myself to really love others in my daily life. I often persuade myself that I am doing something for somebody else and I am sacrificing much for them when in all reality, I am not. Each time you do something for somebody else, I challenge you to consider whether you are doing it out of love or selfishness. I know I love being praised by my mom when I clean the house so do you think I am really cleaning the house because I love her, or because I love being praised. Sad, I know, but that is my sinful nature. Thankfully I sever a God that is forgiving and looks past that!