(Sorry for the typing error in the text above. When I detected this it was too late to rework the whole image. I hope to do that later.)

If in 1 Corinthians 13 verses 1-3 Paul has been emphasising the need for love in church activities and relationships, in verses 4-7 he is defining love. He explains what he means when speaking of love.

So far I have written a number of posts about how people or specifically Christians might react or respond to St. Paul’s standards of love. ( You can find these in the archives of 2017 from April 19 to May 10) Then I have published posts referring to two ingredients of love mentioned by Paul in verse 4, namely patience and kindness. (Cf. the archives of 2017 from May 17 to October 4.).

As we read verses 4-7, we find some more statements of how a loving person would behave or react. Yet in the second part of verse 4 and in verse 5 Paul is dwelling on the opposite of love. He is listing a number of attitudes a loving heart would not entertain.

Whenever you refer to a dictionary you may find that some definitions given are not easy to understand. Often it is helpful to just learn: What is the opposite of that which is being defined?

Here is what Paul says. He speaks of the opposite of love. He mentions a number of things that are inconsistent with a loving attitude:

Love “does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”