If I could...

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. (I Corinthians 13:1-3 NLT)

If I could - those are the most telling words about the motivation behind our actions, aren't they? If I could, I would... These are the words we most often speak when we want to do something but somehow have ourselves talked into not doing it or being incapable of doing it. The real telling words of this passage are not those, though. They are: 'but didn't love others'. The motivation matters, yes, but the heart behind the motivation matters most!

We can have a lot at our disposal, including talent or reason, but if we lack the right motivation that stems from a heart madly in love with Jesus, we will do it all without the love that stems from that 'love relationship' with Jesus. We put Jesus first in our lives and the love that comes from that relationship with him will come through in both our words and our actions. Our 'faith' will be evident in our actions. This is what Jesus always demonstrated in his, isn't it?

We can say we have done many a great deed, but were they done with the love that emanates from the connection we have with Jesus? If not, it was likely for a selfish reason, or because our conscience needed to be appeased a little. A loud voice isn't what wins people over. An intelligence that dazzles many isn't going to win them over. A whole lot of 'good deeds' really isn't going to win others to Christ. It is that they can see we genuinely care - we reveal a little bit of Christ to them in each and every action.

If I didn't love others... Let that sink in a bit. If our actions reveal we are more concerned with what others think about us rather than what they reveal about Jesus who lives with us, we are doing them for all the wrong reasons. If we want to be effective in our testimony, we love Jesus first. That deep connection we have with him will shine through in our actions. Our motives will be purer. Our attitude will be one of true sacrifice and not just 'good' or 'nice' deeds. Just sayin!