daily Broadcast

All You Need Is Love, Part 2

From the series Spiritual Simplicity

Are you struggling to get past a hurt or injustice that has happened in your life? Maybe with a spouse? A child? Or a close friend? Do you wish you could just move on, but you don’t know how? Chip encourages us with a very simple but profound way to begin to live and love again.

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Message Transcript

Many of us live very hurried, overextended, complex lives with shallow, superficial relationships, even with our closest friends and families, because we have unconsciously learned to believe performing well, possessing much, and providing stuff is what life is all about.

Your value as a person, your significance, you’ve got to perform well. Who you are, what you do, what people think has to do with possessing stuff. Some of it’s intangible and some of it is very tangible.

How you doing with this? Boy, it’s quiet in here, isn’t it? And this isn’t – you know what? This is, you don’t get a free pass on this because you’re a pastor. As I’ve looked at my DNA and my schedule and when I look at the list of, not what I say, but the list of, what does my behavior say? What does my schedule scream? Where does my money go?

I feel like there’s a constant battle of fighting against this belief system that possessing, performing. And even the altruistic: “I’m going to provide for,” can get me going at a pace that isn’t good for my soul. It isn’t good for my marriage. It isn’t good for my parenting or grand-parenting. And it kills friendships.

So, if that’s the diagnosis, what would the doctor say? What would the “simplify your life” doctor say? Here’s a prescription for transformation.

Three things he would say. He gets his little pad out. You know, “Put your shirt back on. I’ll be right back in just a second.” Little prescription pad’s coming out.

Number one. The secret to simplifying your life is focus. Now, this isn’t earth shattering, is it? You’re trying to do too much. Oh! You’re trying to accomplish too much. Oh! You’re trying to get your kids involved in too much. Oh! You need to do less. But do it better, deeper, more relational. But you need to do the things that matter most. Oh, okay.

Knowing that we’ve all done that and tried that and it lasts for two days to two weeks, depending on our personalities.

Rx number two. You can only do less when you purpose to love more. This, for me, is the biggest “ah-ha” of this series and this message. I have tried many, many times to tweak my schedule. Right? I’ll do a little less of this, a little less of that. And I already, I go to bed early, I get up real early. I mean, I’ve read time management books like you all have. I do my “A”s first before I do my “B”s and then I do my “C”s. I do know how to multi-task.

And I’m one very intense person. And yet, I watch it just multiply and multiply and multiply until, different seasons of my life, I feel like I’ve got the seven plates spinning or juggling the balls.

And then somehow, well, that can lay there for a couple minutes and I’ll give my attention over here. Ooh, that’s my marriage, it can’t lay there very long. And what, you’ve done it, right?

If just tweaking things was about intelligence, I’m talking to a really smart group of people who, you would have figured that out by now. This is a lifestyle issue. This is a mindset issue.

And this pressure and this demand has us going all these different directions and then sedating our pain and our loneliness with videos and technology and food and un-health. And that’s why we have so many addiction issues. Because right before people get ready to crack, they just find a substitute to make them feel better.

I was in South Africa and afterwards went to Zimbabwe. And I have to visit orphans. The simplicity of their life, “I love God. I love these people. They love me. We want to help others in the way that we’ve been helped.” And I just thought, that is a blessing. And what I realize for me was, the only way, this was a big “ah-ha.” I’ve tried to do less. But other stuff creeps in, right?

There’s always that great opportunity. And then, it always comes with, here’s a great opportunity, it’s right down the middle of the plate and, by the way, this great opportunity is only going to come now and if you don’t swing at it right now your kids are going to miss it or you’re going to miss or the business is going to miss it.

And it’s strategic and it’s great and you can do this and you could add it to your schedule, you’re not going to take anything off but you’re going to mentally say and act like you are.

And so, one more thing gets on there, right? And I just realized, my “no” isn’t strong enough to keep stuff off my plate until I have a lot stronger “yes.”

How did I have two weeks to go be with orphans? And when I was with them and I was with these pastors and when I saw the Third World afresh, all of a sudden, some of the stuff that felt so demanding and some of the people and things I needed to say “no” to – it’s easy to say “no” to doing less when you’re saying “yes” to loving more.

The third Rx is, begin to redefine success. Begin to redefine success from, how did I do? That’s a performance question. Mom, how did I do? Dad, how did I do? Teacher, how did I do? Coach, how did I do? Corporate earnings, how did I do?

Change that to: who am I becoming? You might write above the question, “How did I do?” Performance. Then put an arrow. Who am I becoming? That’s a character question. What do I have? That’s possessions. Put an arrow from that and move it to, how am I using it? Not, what do I have? How am I using it? You move from possessions to stewardship.

And the third question is: how much to I give? What if you changed that question to: why do I give? So it goes from providing to motive.

What we have before us is one of the greatest chapters in all of Biblical history. But I want to tell you, the apostle Paul did not sit down one day and say, “You know something? I would like to write a literary masterpiece. I’d like to write something that people, whether they were Christians or non-Christians, all over the world, when there’s ever a wedding, they would read this.

“I want to provide something for people who love to decoupage. I want plaques to be filled in future Christian stores all over the world, I want it to be put with little lists of poems. You know, Ralph Waldo Emerson, apostle Paul. ‘If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels yet have not love,’ right? ‘If I prophesy…’”

You know, he was not trying to do that. In fact, what you’re going to find is, we’re going to spend our time and we’re going to walk through this. He doesn’t even define love in 1 Corinthians 13. He gives us fifteen descriptions of love beginning at verse 4.

And in the fifteen descriptions, I’ll show you a little bit later, he takes, at least fifteen of their dysfunctional, hurtful, bad, superficial, relational fallout behaviors, and every one of these things is a corrective so that they will be loving in their relationships.

This is a very practical chapter. He’s talking about, instead of suing one another, here’s how you do. Instead of feeling hurt and rejected and betrayed and gossiping about people, here’s what you do. Instead of living this way, here’s what you do. Instead of shacking up with your mother-in-law and being sexually immoral, here’s what you do.

I mean, this church had major problems. But if we’re going to love more, the danger is that we will think that love is an ooey-gooey feeling and now I have, I feel better, God. I had seventeen point five seconds of ooey-gooey feelings with my wife and eleven point seven seconds of ooey-gooey feelings with one of my kids. Or, I’m a single person and I had coffee and we had a deep talk and I feel better.

Now, all those things may be good. But here’s the question. If simplifying your life never works by just saying you’re going to do less but the secret is loving more, the fundamental question is: what is love and how do you practice it?

What does it really mean to be loving? And I’m going to get us started and we’re going to start real small. And we’re going to learn to start loving – what love really is. Not an emotion. Not a good feeling, but a choice to treat other people in a way that you don’t have the power, apart from God giving it to you, but we’re going to learn to love other people. And I want you to start with those closest to you. Family, friends, spouse, irritating in-laws.

And so, notice what he says. Verse 4. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast. It’s not proud.” Just underline “love is patient, love is kind.” That’s all I’m going to cover today.

We’re going to take one baby step toward how to become more loving people. Because as your love will get deeper and deeper and practical this week, you will gravitate and spend energy and time there and you’ll start doing less and loving more.

Love is patient. The word is macrothumus. Macro, meaning broad or to spread out. Thumus has the idea of passion. Some translators say it is, to have a longsuffering. The idea is only used, it’s not in reference to being patient with circumstances, this word has to do with being patient with people.

This says that when someone says a little remark that hurts your feelings and so you shut down and turn on the remote. This says someone who, you know, you wanted to be romantic on a certain evening and you got turned down, so you decide, “You know what? I’m not, I’m just not going to respond to her.” Or him.

This is that little comment that your parents make and you just say, “Well, forget it. I’m going to shut my door and…video game.” This is someone at school who says something to you to hurt your feelings and you just find yourself telling another friend what a jerk and how she’s stuck up and who does he think he is?

This is a different way to respond to hurt. Basically, love is patient, love is kind. He’s addressing the same issue. It’s one coin. The issue is this and write this down: how do I respond when people hurt me? And you don’t have to be in the church long to know you’re going to get hurt.

And we hurt one another in families. And we hurt one another in friends. And we hurt one another in ball teams. And we hurt one another in business. How do you respond when a word or an action or a neglect or someone doesn’t invite you or someone says something about you? How do you respond when there’s a little hurt or a wound?

My reaction is, I’m going to do it back. Or I’ll passive-aggressively say, “Did you hear what he did to me?” Or, she did that, therefore, you know, some of you will lash out with your words. Some of you will pay back later. Some of you will passive-aggressively leak and be sarcastic. Some of you will cut your parents off.

This passage says, “You want to learn to become loving?” Here’s what it says. “Love is patient.” Then the word “kind” is only used in this form in the New Testament. And it’s giving an undeserved response of goodness, winsomeness, and encouragement to the person who has wounded you.

Love absorbs the blow and returns a hug. And it says, “You don’t deserve this,” and I can’t give it in my strength. But you said that to me and it hurt my feeling, I’m going to go to the bedroom and I’m going to forgive you. And then I’m going to think about how could I affirm and encourage you? Because most people who hurt you, it usually comes out of a wound in their own life.

Can you imagine what’s going to happen in relationships if that’s all we do? Love absorbs the blow and gives a hug. Now, some of you have some historic situations and there’s some abuse situations and issues that you have, kind of, in the background. And this does not mean that you go home now and say that, you know, the father that abused you, sexually, “You think we could form a meeting? I learned from God I’m supposed to hug you.”

No, no, no, no, okay? Let’s not oversimplify. There’s issues and boundaries. But let’s just start with the everyday relationships of where we live in our homes or in our apartments with roommates and at work and our neighborhood. And let’s say, what would happen if we absorbed the blow like a pillow and we returned a hug?

That’s really what Jesus did, isn’t it? When He was on the cross, He was hurt, rejected, beaten. And it wasn’t just by those people, it was by our sin. And what did He do? He absorbed the blow. “Into Your hands, Lord, I commit My spirit.” And then He died, He rose from the dead, and He said, “Father, forgive them.” He was kind. He loved.

And we’re going to learn, you know what that does? It never fails. It’s powerful. This is supernaturally responding to evil with good. This is just normal for God’s people.

And so, let me give you a little assignment.

What does your life and schedule indicate you want to be known for? That would be a real honest one to answer, now wouldn’t it? Second, what’s the biggest barrier to you slowing down and simplifying your life? Jot that down. Have coffee and talk with someone that you can trust that is safe over that one.

Third, how can you begin to be more loving this week and with whom? Let’s just get it to one person, just as you’re thinking right now, write someone’s name down. Who is it that has a little wound, a little hurt, a little dissing, you feel a little rejection? Who could you just absorb the blow, forgive them, and give them a hug of some sort?

It might be a note, might be a word of encouragement. Might be bringing something up and telling them you forgive them, I don’t know what it is. God will show you.

And then here, finally, why is it so critical to understand how much God loves you in order to become more loving? See, your first assignment, are you ready? Your first assignment is not go be more patient and kind and loving. Your first assignment is to let God do that for you. Some of us, the reason it’s so hard to love, we don’t let God love us. When we mess up, we beat ourselves up, we feel condemned, “I’ll try harder.”

Yesterday, I did one of the dumbest moves in my car probably in the last ten years. And I got in the wrong lane, and then I cut over about two and a half lanes to make a freeway exit. And as I pulled through – and you know I kind of had it – but I did it too fast, I did it too quick. And then I didn’t see it, and a guy was out in the crosswalk. And I, you know, he got by, and I got by – and I just, because I was in a hurry – I mean, I just thought…and then it was real quiet, and Theresa looked at me like, “Oh my.” And she should’ve just wailed on me. And I finally said, “Are you okay?” She goes, “Yeah.” She goes, “You know you almost hit that guy?” I said, “I know it.” And then I thought of how my whole life could be different because of a hurried, stupid, foolish act.

And then I started on this journey of, Chip, you’re not this, you’re not this, you’re not this, you’re not this, and because of this message, instead I just stopped and said, God, thank You for not giving me the consequences I may have deserved. And for that man, I just totally blew it, Father. I am so sorry. I want to remember You’re patient with me. I’m going to receive Your forgiveness right now. And for some of you, you’ll never be patient with others, until you let God be that for you.