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Best Interest?

 Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.  (Psalm 97:9-10) 

 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, 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, always perseveres. Love never fails. (I Corinthians 13:4-8) 

Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. (John 14:23)


Let those who love the Lord… I often say that the first step in any discussion is to define your terms. When one of those terms is love, I generally define the term as seeking what is in the best interest of the beloved. Others turn to the second passage, which I consider a description rather than a definition.  The distinction between definition and description is important but minor.

The problem with both the definition and the description is that they seem to fit better when one is considering the love of a greater to a lesser, or a stronger to a weaker. Why would God need anyone to seek what is in His best interests? Why would anyone need to be patient with perfection? Or kind to omnipotence? OK, it’s easy to see how the injunction against envy would be needed. God’s very being provokes envy because He’s perfect, but how can a love that “seeks what is in the best interest” be given to one who needs nothing? Should we treat Him as if He needs our help?

Maybe no one else struggles with this, but when I think in terms of doing what is in the best interest of the beloved, I tend to think in terms of a beloved who is weaker, lesser, younger, etc. Since God is none of those things, I need a little paradigm shift, and the last passage above provides a clue.

Is it reasonable to associate obedience to Christ’s teachings with doing what is in the best interest of the Beloved? Scripture seems to have no problem making the association but just for fun, let’s consider the logic. The wisest, all-knowing God has designed the universe and knows what is best for it and for us. While He needs nothing from us, if we are obedient, we are joining Him in seeking what is in the best interest of the universe, one another, and ourselves.

It is a natural fit because it is our firm desire that those who love us also support our loves. We would hardly look for a friend or significant other who specifically loathes, opposes, or otherwise rejects things that are important to us and actively interferes in our connection with them.

So, while we may ask ourselves if we are patient with God, kind to God, etc., we may better ask ourselves if we are patient with each element of God’s creation. Are we kind to each element?


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