No Recording

 

DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

NO RECORDING

1 Cor 13:4-7

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

NIV

It seems almost impossible not to keep a record of wrongs. When we look at the Greek the direct interlinear says, no thinking evil. However, it would require a far deeper look into the Greek words, and this, it keeps no record of wrongs, appears to be a very good translation. Without dissecting each Greek word, we are going to focus on the concept. If we love someone, which we are supposed to love everyone, that is our neighbor, which most certainly includes our spouse. Marriage is most likely where this is going to show up more than elsewhere, although it does apply in church too, as well as in our daily life outside the community of faith. Nevertheless, it does not even have to be the fact that we were wronged to keep a record of someone’s wrongs. We merely need to have a somewhat critical attitude, watching to see if someone messes up and then make a mental note, so that we might be able to remind them at some time later, using that, somehow to our advantage. As far as when we are actually wronged in some way, then it will serve us even better to put that into our memory so that if the situation arises, we can get even. Oh, sweet revenge! Wait, that is not what we are supposed to do, because we love, we are not to keep any record whatsoever of any wrong done by anyone to us or, for that matter, to anyone. What we have to always remember is that God loves us and therefore He does not keep a record of our wrongs. He forgave us and He forgives us because we are in Christ. It is impossible for us to never do any wrongs in the case with God, for that would mean we never sin, and that is simply a lie, in that we would be deceiving ourselves to think we have attained perfection, that we have become as pure as God. Therefore, because God does not keep a record of our wrongs, who are we to keep a record of someone’s wrongs. Not only that, but because God loves us and does not keep a record of our wrongs, we should not keep a record of our wrongs either. If we did, then we would be overwhelmed with guilt and shame and would be crippled in our faith. No record means no record, putting it away, not ever bringing it up again. It may not mean we don’t remember, for our memory is what it is. However, we are not supposed to keep it locked up there, which would then be more like not forgiving. So no record, please.