My Two Month Two Cents on Marriage. LOVE vs PRIDE

The opposite of love is not hate. I had thought it to be indifference, and while this can be an expression of the lack of love… I have come to realize the opposite of love is in fact pride. To be truly loved, and to love deeply in return, there can be no fear. Love is a risk. It’s giving your heart to another and trusting them to steward it well. Marriage an even bigger leap of faith as two imperfect people embark on one life together, no longer two entities but now one cord. Pride will always provoke self preservation. For God so loved that he gave… Jesus modeled the greatest act of love in sacrificing Himself to be brutally sacrificed for us. The greatest example and evidence of the deepest form of love is sacrificial love. Self preservation and sacrificial love do not coexist but are in fact in position to each other. Pride will seek to safeguard ones feelings, outdo the other, “win” the war instead of resolve the issue, consider what’s beneficial to self first, seek to be served more than to serve and ultimately, maybe even unknowingly strive for autonomy at the cost of unity. Pride can masquerade as insecurity, over-independence, anger, fear… often deprived from deep wounds of rejection, trauma and brokenness.

Sacrificial Love seeks to serve, love, forgive and trust against all odds and regardless of the cost. Its desire is to see the other succeed, knowing ones victory is shared by both, likewise are the losses. It is quick to forgive and quick to let go. It keeps no score, recognising autonomy has been surrendered in order for unity to thrive. It considered first the other’s wellbeing, compromising and communicating where needed for peace, not where utilized for selfish ambition. It understands every act, deed and word done in love is a seed sown and not an expense spent to be seeking a refund or demanded upon or become resentful when no imminent or even guaranteed return is in sight. It denies the fleshly and immature impulses, provoking the challenge of growth both emotionally and spiritually. It is the standard of love set for us and is attainable through the empowering of the Holy Spirit, acceptance of the gift of grace through our Saviour Jesus, by receiving the Perfect love of our Perfect Heavenly Father and by the renewal of our carnal mind through the washing of the Word. Let’s strive to be people who love deeply, authentically, genuinely and sacrificially, the way we have all first been loved.

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7