“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil…” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5, NKJV)

Paul illustrates the nature of love. His illustrations are all drawn from its effect in regulating our conduct toward others, or our contact with them. It was necessary for the Corinthian believers to understand in what way love should be manifested toward each other. There were contentions and strifes among them; there were of course suspicions, and jealousies, and heart-burnings; there would be unkind judging, the imputation of improper motives, and selfishness; there were envy, and pride, and boasting, all of which were inconsistent with love; and Paul therefore evidently designed to correct these evils, and to produce a different state of things by showing them what would be produced by the exercise of love.

“Suffers long” denotes slowness to anger or passion; longsuffering, patient endurance, forbearance. It is opposed to haste; to passionate expressions and thoughts, and to irritability. It denotes the state of mind which can bear long when oppressed, provoked, and when one seeks to injure us.

The word “kind” denotes to be good-natured, gentle, tender, affectionate. Love is gracious. It wishes well. It is not harsh, sour, ill-natured. The essence is that, under all provocations and ill-usage it is gentle and mild. “To envy” means to be “zealous” for or against any person or thing; that is, to be eager for, or anxious for or against anyone. It is usually used in a good sense, but it may be used in a bad sense – to be zealous of; to envy. It is in this sense that it is used here, denoting zeal, or ardent desire against any person. Love does not envy others the happiness which they enjoy; it delights in their welfare; and as their happiness is increased by their endowments, their rank, their reputation, their wealth, their health, their domestic comforts, their learning, and many more. If we are ruled by love we will rejoice in all this.

“Love does not parade itself and is not puffed up.” The idea is that of boasting, bragging – a spirit that proceeds from the idea of superiority over others and is connected with the feeling of contempt or disregard for them. It means “to blow,” “to puff,” “to inflate with pride and vanity” and “self-esteem” (puffed up). Love would correct this, because it would produce a desire that they should be happy – and to treat a man with contempt is not the way to make him happy. Love would regard others with esteem – and to boast over them is not to treat them with esteem; it would teach us to treat them with affectionate regard – and no one of us who has affectionate regard for others is disposed to boast of his own qualities over them.

Love prevents us from being puffed up because it would destroy the feeling, as well as the expression of it. It would teach us that others had good qualities as well. Pride, vanity, and even knowledge may swell the mind with conviction of self-importance; but love is humble, meek, and modest. Love seeks that which is proper or becoming in the circumstances and relations of life in which we are placed. it prompts us to respect others and their opinions; it teaches us proper regards for inferiors, not despising their rank, their poverty, their clothing, and their views of happiness.

Sources:

MySword for Android. Riversfot Ministry, 2011-2019.

The NKJV Bible

http://www.biblegateway.com

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