I try to grade myself a couple of times each month how well I am loving others especially my wife, immediate family, and friends/neighbors. This is not me psychoanalyzing myself according to my own standards. I go to 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and score myself based on the 15 characteristics of the love of Jesus. Take 5 minutes and do a self-analysis. If you want to be bold, ask your wife/husband and kids, and possibly be accountable to close friends how well you love others. The below is the assessment. Assess yourself 1 to 5 with 1 being weak and 5 being strong.
Love is patient _____
Love is kind _____
Love does not envy _____
Love does not boast _____
Love is not arrogant _____
Love is not rude _____
Love does not insist on its own way _____
Love is not easily angered _____
Love keeps no record of wrongs _____
Love does not delight in evil _____
Love rejoices with the truth _____
Love always protects _____
Love always trusts _____
Love always hopes _____
Love always perseveres _____
Two dynamic and challenging verses describe how to love others:
- Ephesians 4:29, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
- Philippians 2:3&4,“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
How well did you do on the assessment? Looking at the two quoted verses, how good are you at relating to and genuinely caring for others? With the Lord’s help, be brave, get out of your comfort zone and learn to love others like Jesus.
Barnabas Man 