5 (Charity) Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
“Doth not behave itself unseemly”
This one stumped me at first. Behaving unseemly didn’t seem to be connected with love as much as it was with old fashioned good manners. But the more I thought about it, I realized that it has a lot to do with love in both the romantic and Christian forms.
In a romantic way, behaving unseemly or inappropriate can be frustrating to your mate and does not show them much respect. It can be embarrassing in front of their peers and leaves everyone feeling very uncomfortable. In Christian love , behaving unseemly can have even greater repercussions. Our greatest testimony of our faith is shown through our love for people. Christ’s love is what attracts a sinner to repentant knees! What good would our testimony be if we claimed to have Christ’s love and then acted foolishly or rudely? That doesn’t leave a good taste in anyone’s mouth for the things of God and our faith.
“seeketh not her own”
Love is not selfish. There is no such thing as selfish love. Love’s very nature is to give of herself to others even if they are going through a period of “long suffering” as the verse before this one said. I can’t be looking out for my best interest and say that I love Michael. The way I should be loving him is to look out for HIS best interest first. If he is loving me back as he always does, he will look out for me so I don’t need to be concerned with myself anyways. Now, no one is perfect so there will be times that I will put myself above him and visa versa but that is no excuse for falling off the selfless-love wagon. No one said marriage would be easy, but it is so worth it.
“is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil”
This one is a bit harder to swallow. I am of Irish decent. I have a temper…and it’s not a long one sometimes. As much as I would looooooove to be able to excuse myself because of my heritage, it would not be right.
“Is not easily provoked” even if:
- the socks are all over the floor
- dinner is a little cold
- he/she left 3tbsp of milk in the refrigerator
- the budget is overdrawn
- the dog wasn’t walked and pooped on the floor
- leaves the drawer cracked open EVERYDAY
- the dishes are not rinsed off
- he/she refuses to stop tickling
- he won’t ask for directions even though you are late
- she won’t stop changing her clothes even though you are late
- (insert anything that bugs you to death about your mate or even something serious)
It’s so easy to love each other when they are treating you right and everything is going smoothly. But when the going gets a little rougher or your heart is broken, it’s easy to be provoked into thinking evil thoughts towards the other person. Love is caring more for the other person than yourself even when they “don’t deserve it”.
Michael has this concept down really well. I couldn’t ask for a more loving husband and best friend.
I love you babe!!!!
