WEBVTT 00:00:11.470 --> 00:00:13.390 Do you wish you could put the brakes on the speed 00:00:13.390 --> 00:00:16.230 of life? I mean, between work and family, ministry, 00:00:16.429 --> 00:00:19.550 financial pressures, carpools. Is it any wonder 00:00:19.550 --> 00:00:21.850 that our lives and relationships are living on 00:00:21.850 --> 00:00:24.769 the ragged edge? If you long to start loving 00:00:24.769 --> 00:00:28.429 more by doing less, then stay with us. You won't 00:00:28.429 --> 00:00:33.810 want to miss it. Welcome to this weekend edition 00:00:33.810 --> 00:00:37.119 of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. The mission 00:00:37.119 --> 00:00:39.759 of this daily program is to intentionally disciple 00:00:39.759 --> 00:00:42.119 Christians through the insightful Bible teaching 00:00:42.119 --> 00:00:44.700 of Chip Ingram. And are you ready to embrace 00:00:44.700 --> 00:00:47.759 that radical idea Chip just posed? You want to 00:00:47.759 --> 00:00:50.420 shift your life from busyness to loving people 00:00:50.420 --> 00:00:53.179 more? Well, this past week, Chip kicked off his 00:00:53.179 --> 00:00:56.500 insightful series, Spiritual Simplicity. Over 00:00:56.500 --> 00:00:58.740 the next handful of days, he'll continue identifying 00:00:58.740 --> 00:01:02.140 practical steps from 1 Corinthians chapter 13 00:01:02.140 --> 00:01:05.799 to help us slow our lives down and refocus on 00:01:05.799 --> 00:01:08.659 what truly matters. Today, we're revisiting this 00:01:08.659 --> 00:01:11.420 first program in this study. And because we all 00:01:11.420 --> 00:01:14.200 wrestle with this delicate balance, let me encourage 00:01:14.200 --> 00:01:16.560 you to ask a few friends to join you for the 00:01:16.560 --> 00:01:18.819 remainder of this series. Now, you can listen 00:01:18.819 --> 00:01:21.239 through the Chip Ingram app or wherever you listen 00:01:21.239 --> 00:01:24.170 to podcasts. If you have a Bible, go now to 1 00:01:24.170 --> 00:01:27.430 Corinthians chapter 13 and settle in for Chip's 00:01:27.430 --> 00:01:32.129 talk, All You Need Is Love. I've observed something. 00:01:32.849 --> 00:01:35.489 I've observed there's a dance that is done. It's 00:01:35.489 --> 00:01:38.150 done all over the country. In fact, many places 00:01:38.150 --> 00:01:41.109 around the world. And I call it the Silicon Valley 00:01:41.109 --> 00:01:46.469 Shuffle. The music is very, very fast. The rhythm 00:01:46.469 --> 00:01:50.269 is very, very upbeat. And the people, I mean... 00:01:50.480 --> 00:01:55.000 They dance with intensity and passion and often 00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:58.040 to the point of fatigue. There's four words that 00:01:58.040 --> 00:02:01.859 describe the Silicon Valley shuffle as I watch 00:02:01.859 --> 00:02:04.939 it at times in my own life and in the lives of 00:02:04.939 --> 00:02:09.360 lots of friends. It's bigger, better, faster, 00:02:09.500 --> 00:02:13.280 and more. And so we live at a pace where if you 00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:14.599 don't want to work till seven or eight o 'clock 00:02:14.599 --> 00:02:17.060 at night, go work someplace else. And then pretty 00:02:17.060 --> 00:02:18.659 soon you think about, well, you got to do that 00:02:18.659 --> 00:02:21.590 with your kids. See, the Silicon Valley shuffle 00:02:21.590 --> 00:02:24.969 is about pressure and about demand and about 00:02:24.969 --> 00:02:27.150 making it happen. And it's very unconscious. 00:02:27.389 --> 00:02:30.270 And the music is always playing 24 -7. Wherever 00:02:30.270 --> 00:02:32.490 you're living, there's this pressure. It's got 00:02:32.490 --> 00:02:35.349 to be better. It's got to be bigger. It's got 00:02:35.349 --> 00:02:37.810 to be faster. And then if it gets better and 00:02:37.810 --> 00:02:39.629 bigger and faster, then you look at what you've 00:02:39.629 --> 00:02:42.650 got, and then it's got to be more. And the music 00:02:42.650 --> 00:02:49.159 just speeds up. And it produces something. It 00:02:49.159 --> 00:02:55.080 produces this desire to be all and to do all 00:02:55.080 --> 00:02:58.280 and to have it all. We don't say it, but our 00:02:58.280 --> 00:03:00.419 lives reflect it. You know, I've got to be it 00:03:00.419 --> 00:03:02.919 all. I've got to do it all. I've got to have 00:03:02.919 --> 00:03:05.759 it all. And you'll notice on your notes, I put 00:03:05.759 --> 00:03:07.639 three things that over time this will produce. 00:03:08.840 --> 00:03:13.360 It's created a very, very complex world that 00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:19.270 moves too fast, that delivers too little, and 00:03:19.270 --> 00:03:23.509 demands too much. So the question I want to ask 00:03:23.509 --> 00:03:28.069 and answer with you is, is it possible to break 00:03:28.069 --> 00:03:31.210 free of the high speed, high pressure, high demand, 00:03:31.509 --> 00:03:36.310 guilt -producing dis -ease of our complex lives? 00:03:37.060 --> 00:03:40.680 I took the word disease because it means something's 00:03:40.680 --> 00:03:43.360 wrong. And I put the hyphen in it because there's 00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:46.080 sort of a dis -ease. There's a lack of ease. 00:03:46.319 --> 00:03:48.960 There's a lack of sense of pace. There's a lack 00:03:48.960 --> 00:03:51.840 of peace. And when you have a physical disease, 00:03:52.039 --> 00:03:53.379 what do you do? You go to the doctor, right? 00:03:54.259 --> 00:03:56.759 I mean, you know, your temperature goes up, you 00:03:56.759 --> 00:03:59.840 feel terrible. And usually if you're doing the 00:03:59.840 --> 00:04:01.580 shuffle, you say, well, you know, I'll just get 00:04:01.580 --> 00:04:03.240 through this. I'll keep going to work. But eventually 00:04:03.240 --> 00:04:05.319 you go to the doctor. When you go to the doctor, 00:04:05.879 --> 00:04:08.099 You want a doctor who does something very, very 00:04:08.099 --> 00:04:11.240 important to make a proper diagnosis before they 00:04:11.240 --> 00:04:13.280 give you a prescription, correct? I mean, if 00:04:13.280 --> 00:04:14.620 you went and say, I don't feel very good, he 00:04:14.620 --> 00:04:16.000 goes, hey, I got some pills on the shelf, take 00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:18.379 these. Well, wait, wait, doc, doc, hold on. Or 00:04:18.379 --> 00:04:20.420 you know what? I'm really struggling with, and 00:04:20.420 --> 00:04:21.779 you tell him one thing, he gets good. Tomorrow 00:04:21.779 --> 00:04:23.620 morning, 6 a .m., surgery. You're going, whoa. 00:04:24.459 --> 00:04:28.720 See, the key to the right prescription is a proper 00:04:28.720 --> 00:04:31.339 diagnosis. You want them to really figure out 00:04:31.339 --> 00:04:33.060 what's wrong before they start pumping drugs 00:04:33.060 --> 00:04:36.060 in you or cutting you open. And the same is true 00:04:36.060 --> 00:04:37.939 spiritually. So I want to take you this morning 00:04:37.939 --> 00:04:42.519 to just a little stop to the simplify your life 00:04:42.519 --> 00:04:45.120 doctor. And in order to do a little diagnosis, 00:04:45.300 --> 00:04:47.360 I'm going to ask like a doctor does, right? When 00:04:47.360 --> 00:04:48.699 you walk in, he goes, well, how long you been 00:04:48.699 --> 00:04:51.279 having this? Is there any of this in your family? 00:04:51.579 --> 00:04:54.060 Tell me about your diet. Tell me about your exercise. 00:04:54.259 --> 00:04:55.519 Do you have any stress in your life? And then 00:04:55.519 --> 00:04:58.980 you laugh. But they ask a lot of questions. That's 00:04:58.980 --> 00:05:01.579 how they do a diagnosis. And so the question 00:05:01.579 --> 00:05:03.660 I want to ask you is what do you want to be known 00:05:03.660 --> 00:05:06.509 for? That's the first question because there's 00:05:06.509 --> 00:05:08.310 something behind the bigger, better, faster, 00:05:08.370 --> 00:05:10.410 more, bigger, better, faster, more. There's something 00:05:10.410 --> 00:05:12.990 in you and something in me that creates this 00:05:12.990 --> 00:05:15.550 momentum and this drive and this pressure and 00:05:15.550 --> 00:05:17.569 this demand. And part of it is going to be rooted 00:05:17.569 --> 00:05:21.120 in what do you really want to be known for? And 00:05:21.120 --> 00:05:23.040 we heard, I want to be known as a kind and loving 00:05:23.040 --> 00:05:25.199 person. I want to be known as a person who's 00:05:25.199 --> 00:05:26.860 fair. Other people would say, I want to be known 00:05:26.860 --> 00:05:29.500 to be a great mom or a great dad, or I want to 00:05:29.500 --> 00:05:31.480 be known as an excellent student. I want to be 00:05:31.480 --> 00:05:34.500 known as, one person said, a person who solves 00:05:34.500 --> 00:05:36.740 some problem is very knowledgeable. I want to 00:05:36.740 --> 00:05:39.040 be known as someone who's very wise. I want to 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:42.399 be known as someone who's, and if you had to 00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:44.720 write down, I want to be known for, what would 00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:48.800 you write on your notes? What would you write? 00:05:53.220 --> 00:05:55.620 Now, the problem with this question that was 00:05:55.620 --> 00:05:59.699 kind of interesting is we all have two lists 00:05:59.699 --> 00:06:02.180 of what we want to be known for. There's the 00:06:02.180 --> 00:06:04.540 list that when someone like me asks you this, 00:06:04.680 --> 00:06:07.240 I mean, no one is writing, I want to be known 00:06:07.240 --> 00:06:09.779 as an ax murderer, okay? I'm thinking we're okay 00:06:09.779 --> 00:06:14.300 on that one, right? But I'm figuring there's 00:06:14.300 --> 00:06:16.240 not a lot of you who say, I want to be known 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:20.079 for being a driven, overextended, hurried parent 00:06:20.079 --> 00:06:22.220 who doesn't connect with my kids. No, that's 00:06:22.220 --> 00:06:24.019 not a good one. I want to be known for a very 00:06:24.019 --> 00:06:28.540 successful business person who has been through 00:06:28.540 --> 00:06:30.759 two or three marriages. No, no, no, no. I want 00:06:30.759 --> 00:06:35.519 to be known for someone who's way too busy to 00:06:35.519 --> 00:06:39.540 have any meaningful deep friendships. See, what 00:06:39.540 --> 00:06:42.300 I'm going to say with my lips and what I intellectually 00:06:42.300 --> 00:06:48.000 want to be known for is one list. And then your 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:52.420 schedule and my schedule And your words and where 00:06:52.420 --> 00:06:56.459 your time and energy and money goes is a separate 00:06:56.459 --> 00:07:00.100 list. And the bad part about life is like when 00:07:00.100 --> 00:07:02.379 we go to the doctor, when they ask, how are you 00:07:02.379 --> 00:07:04.639 eating? We tell them stuff like, I think pretty 00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:08.500 good. You know, I mean, fairly healthy. You know, 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:10.600 I roll out of bed, coffee, no breakfast, get 00:07:10.600 --> 00:07:13.899 a Danish, have a candy bar at noon and eat a 00:07:13.899 --> 00:07:16.920 decent supper. I mean, isn't that good? Not that 00:07:16.920 --> 00:07:21.279 I do that. I'm just, that was hypothetical. Do 00:07:21.279 --> 00:07:25.259 you see the difference? Well, let me ask one 00:07:25.259 --> 00:07:27.220 more question. If you could get it down to one 00:07:27.220 --> 00:07:32.100 word, just one word, what would you want to be 00:07:32.100 --> 00:07:34.759 known for? And I realize that's super hard, but 00:07:34.759 --> 00:07:37.740 if there was one word that could describe you, 00:07:37.839 --> 00:07:40.879 one word where if you're a parent, your kids 00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:44.189 would say, this describes my dad or my mom. Or 00:07:44.189 --> 00:07:46.569 if you're married, your spouse would say, this 00:07:46.569 --> 00:07:50.310 is the one word that epitomizes when I think 00:07:50.310 --> 00:07:53.589 of my mate, it's this. Or one word that really 00:07:53.589 --> 00:07:57.009 epitomizes what my closest friends think of me. 00:07:57.410 --> 00:08:05.350 What would it be? Got it? I'm going to suggest 00:08:05.350 --> 00:08:08.370 that there might be a lot of good solutions, 00:08:08.449 --> 00:08:13.959 but there is one word that No matter what word 00:08:13.959 --> 00:08:17.540 you came up with, if it's not this word, that 00:08:17.540 --> 00:08:20.439 your word is a distant second. And not there's 00:08:20.439 --> 00:08:22.019 anything wrong with wanting to be a good mom 00:08:22.019 --> 00:08:24.019 or a good dad or a hard worker, a successful 00:08:24.019 --> 00:08:26.259 business person, or to start your own company 00:08:26.259 --> 00:08:28.120 or to be a great athlete or a great artist. I 00:08:28.120 --> 00:08:30.560 mean, those desires are fine, but you can do, 00:08:30.740 --> 00:08:33.799 you could fulfill all those desires. But if you 00:08:33.799 --> 00:08:37.759 didn't fulfill this one word, according to God, 00:08:37.940 --> 00:08:42.120 all of those are not like a close second. They're 00:08:42.120 --> 00:08:44.840 like such a distant, distant, distant second. 00:08:44.940 --> 00:08:48.220 If this one word does not describe my life and 00:08:48.220 --> 00:08:54.519 your life, we will find ourselves missing what 00:08:54.519 --> 00:08:57.620 matters most. And I'm convinced the only way 00:08:57.620 --> 00:09:00.200 to simplify your life is to get clear on what 00:09:00.200 --> 00:09:03.559 really matters. The Apostle Paul would write 00:09:03.559 --> 00:09:09.110 one very overarching principle. And he's going 00:09:09.110 --> 00:09:12.769 to tell us that anything minus love is nothing. 00:09:13.830 --> 00:09:18.730 Anything. Any success, anything powerful. And 00:09:18.730 --> 00:09:20.750 then he's going to tell us, put another way, 00:09:20.809 --> 00:09:25.730 that everything minus love is nothing. And you 00:09:25.730 --> 00:09:27.090 might say, well, Chip, where did you get that? 00:09:27.809 --> 00:09:31.309 The Apostle Paul is writing to a church. I mean, 00:09:31.350 --> 00:09:34.090 they're high capacity. They're very gifted. They're 00:09:34.090 --> 00:09:36.529 situated in a part of the world that where they, 00:09:36.590 --> 00:09:39.070 I mean, they have just great influence. It's 00:09:39.070 --> 00:09:41.750 the Corinthian church, but I mean, they have 00:09:41.750 --> 00:09:44.549 a lot of shuffle problems. They have dysfunctional 00:09:44.549 --> 00:09:46.769 relationships. The things that matter most aren't 00:09:46.769 --> 00:09:49.700 going very well. And so there apparently was 00:09:49.700 --> 00:09:53.419 maybe a tattletale, a good tattletale who sort 00:09:53.419 --> 00:09:55.360 of said to Paul, you know, that church, they're 00:09:55.360 --> 00:09:57.779 not doing very well. Here's all the issues. And 00:09:57.779 --> 00:09:59.860 like the first four or five chapters, he talks 00:09:59.860 --> 00:10:01.399 about, you know, they're suing one another and 00:10:01.399 --> 00:10:03.940 there's divisions. And it's, you know, all the 00:10:03.940 --> 00:10:05.759 things about living the way Jesus said, they're 00:10:05.759 --> 00:10:07.360 just not doing very well. That's not what you 00:10:07.360 --> 00:10:10.419 taught. And then later, Paul gets a letter. And 00:10:10.419 --> 00:10:11.960 they have a number of questions. They have questions 00:10:11.960 --> 00:10:13.840 about marriage and questions about singleness 00:10:13.840 --> 00:10:16.019 and questions about divorce and questions about 00:10:16.019 --> 00:10:18.440 lawsuits and questions about the Lord's Supper 00:10:18.440 --> 00:10:20.879 and questions about all kinds of things, the 00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:23.679 gifts of the Spirit and spiritual maturity. And 00:10:23.679 --> 00:10:27.139 so Paul is writing this letter to address all 00:10:27.139 --> 00:10:31.139 these specific issues. You're listening to Living 00:10:31.139 --> 00:10:33.519 on the Edge. We'll get you back to our series, 00:10:33.639 --> 00:10:36.549 Spiritual Simplicity, in just a minute. But first, 00:10:36.629 --> 00:10:38.990 if this teaching has ministered to you, consider 00:10:38.990 --> 00:10:41.850 becoming a monthly partner. Your regular financial 00:10:41.850 --> 00:10:44.309 support goes a long way to help us encourage 00:10:44.309 --> 00:10:47.470 pastors, create resources, and share Jesus with 00:10:47.470 --> 00:10:50.950 today's youth. Visit livingontheedge .org today 00:10:50.950 --> 00:10:53.529 to learn how to support us. Well, with that, 00:10:53.529 --> 00:10:56.710 here again is Chip. And one of the issues, he 00:10:56.710 --> 00:10:59.889 opens it up in chapter 12, verse 1. He says, 00:11:01.799 --> 00:11:03.960 Now, most of your Bibles, you can actually open 00:11:03.960 --> 00:11:05.620 up because we're going to go to chapter 13 in 00:11:05.620 --> 00:11:07.220 just a second. But if you open your Bibles to 00:11:07.220 --> 00:11:09.000 chapter 12, it'll give you some context here. 00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:11.740 He says, now, concerning spirituals, literally, 00:11:11.899 --> 00:11:13.879 it's spirituals. Now, most of your Bibles will 00:11:13.879 --> 00:11:16.320 say spiritual gifts because when it's not completely 00:11:16.320 --> 00:11:19.500 clear, it'll be in italics, and then 12 is about 00:11:19.500 --> 00:11:24.279 gifts and 14 is about gifts. But if you study 00:11:24.279 --> 00:11:26.440 all three of those chapters very carefully, what 00:11:26.440 --> 00:11:29.909 you understand is... The major overarching issue 00:11:29.909 --> 00:11:34.809 of chapter 12, 13, and 14 isn't gifts, it's spiritual 00:11:34.809 --> 00:11:36.710 maturity, or what's it mean to be spiritual? 00:11:37.110 --> 00:11:39.429 Because the Corinthians believed that what made 00:11:39.429 --> 00:11:41.710 you spiritual was they were really into the gift 00:11:41.710 --> 00:11:43.730 of tongues, speaking a language that they hadn't 00:11:43.730 --> 00:11:45.629 learned, and they felt like really spiritual 00:11:45.629 --> 00:11:48.750 people had this gift. Paul will argue in chapter 00:11:48.750 --> 00:11:51.769 12, that may be a very important gift, but the 00:11:51.769 --> 00:11:55.409 most spiritual gift is prophecy because it benefits 00:11:55.409 --> 00:11:58.830 other people and it reveals God's truth. And 00:11:58.830 --> 00:12:00.909 look at chapter 12, look at the very end, look 00:12:00.909 --> 00:12:04.070 at verse 31. He says, now he makes this, talked 00:12:04.070 --> 00:12:06.210 about all the gifts and their role in spiritual 00:12:06.210 --> 00:12:08.610 maturity. And then he says, now let me show you 00:12:08.610 --> 00:12:12.269 a more excellent way. And then he opens it up 00:12:12.269 --> 00:12:14.169 and he says, if I speak with the tongues of men 00:12:14.169 --> 00:12:17.549 and of angels but have not love, I'm a resounding 00:12:17.549 --> 00:12:20.730 gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift 00:12:20.730 --> 00:12:22.710 of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and 00:12:22.710 --> 00:12:24.990 all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move 00:12:24.990 --> 00:12:28.190 mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. 00:12:28.649 --> 00:12:31.090 If I give all my possessions to the poor and 00:12:31.090 --> 00:12:34.549 surrender my body to the flames but have not 00:12:34.549 --> 00:12:37.629 love, I gain nothing. Could you go in your notes 00:12:37.629 --> 00:12:40.440 and just underline but have not love, but have 00:12:40.440 --> 00:12:42.460 not love, but have not love. Three times, right? 00:12:43.419 --> 00:12:47.840 But have not love. And did you notice the progression? 00:12:48.019 --> 00:12:51.419 It goes from not very good to bad, then to worse. 00:12:52.220 --> 00:12:56.399 And so he takes that gift that they esteem, and 00:12:56.399 --> 00:12:58.759 he says, this ability to speak in another language 00:12:58.759 --> 00:13:01.659 that you haven't learned, if you could even speak 00:13:01.659 --> 00:13:05.159 it in angels' languages, but if you don't do 00:13:05.159 --> 00:13:07.509 it with love, I mean, you guys really think this 00:13:07.509 --> 00:13:09.450 is the biggie? If you don't do it with love, 00:13:09.549 --> 00:13:12.769 you just become like a gong and a clanging cymbal. 00:13:12.769 --> 00:13:15.090 And he's referring to their background. In their 00:13:15.090 --> 00:13:17.610 background, in pagan worship, they believe that 00:13:17.610 --> 00:13:19.529 you had to wake up the gods. And the way they 00:13:19.529 --> 00:13:21.330 would wake up the gods as they would start their 00:13:21.330 --> 00:13:24.950 pagan festivals is they got bong, bong, ching, 00:13:24.950 --> 00:13:26.889 ching, ching, bong, bong. And they would make 00:13:26.889 --> 00:13:28.970 all this noise that didn't have any music or 00:13:28.970 --> 00:13:31.190 any sense to it to get their god to wake up. 00:13:32.299 --> 00:13:35.019 And so Paul's giving a little dig to them because 00:13:35.019 --> 00:13:37.480 there's not love in this group. They've got a 00:13:37.480 --> 00:13:40.200 lot of gifts. They treat each other badly. They 00:13:40.200 --> 00:13:42.480 gossip about each other. There's division. There's 00:13:42.480 --> 00:13:45.100 disunity. And they've got all kinds of dysfunctions 00:13:45.100 --> 00:13:46.919 in this church. And he's saying, you want to 00:13:46.919 --> 00:13:49.879 really be spiritual. He said, if you had this 00:13:49.879 --> 00:13:52.919 greatest, greatest gift ever that you think is 00:13:52.919 --> 00:13:56.519 so hot without love, you just basically come 00:13:56.519 --> 00:13:58.399 like the beginning of your old pagan worship 00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:02.070 services. And so actually it produces nothing. 00:14:02.610 --> 00:14:05.629 Then notice he goes on to say, if I have, so 00:14:05.629 --> 00:14:08.070 he moves from a performing something that you 00:14:08.070 --> 00:14:11.309 do to something that you possess. And then he 00:14:11.309 --> 00:14:13.769 goes back to his spiritual perspective of if 00:14:13.769 --> 00:14:15.970 prophecy is the highest one. And he goes, even 00:14:15.970 --> 00:14:17.750 if you have that and you knew mysteries, you 00:14:17.750 --> 00:14:19.929 had all this knowledge and you had this faith 00:14:19.929 --> 00:14:21.610 that you could trust God that I mean, supernatural 00:14:21.610 --> 00:14:24.590 things would occur. If you do that without love, 00:14:24.690 --> 00:14:27.909 not only does it not produce anything, you become 00:14:27.909 --> 00:14:34.450 nothing. Think of that. Just, I mean, that's 00:14:34.450 --> 00:14:38.929 your essence. And then finally says, if you exercise, 00:14:39.070 --> 00:14:40.909 I'm sure he's thinking here of the gift of giving 00:14:40.909 --> 00:14:44.789 that he explains to him later. If you are so 00:14:44.789 --> 00:14:47.919 sacrificial in your giving. That I mean, it's 00:14:47.919 --> 00:14:51.200 lavish. I mean, 10%, I mean, you blew by that. 00:14:51.399 --> 00:14:55.299 20%, you blew by that. 50, 60, 70 % of your income. 00:14:55.419 --> 00:14:58.139 You're lavish. In fact, you decide at one point 00:14:58.139 --> 00:15:00.220 in time, you would actually lay down your life. 00:15:01.259 --> 00:15:05.279 Allow your body to be burned, be martyred. Sacrificially, 00:15:05.279 --> 00:15:07.860 you are providing. But he says, if you didn't 00:15:07.860 --> 00:15:13.279 do it out of love, profits you nothing. I want 00:15:13.279 --> 00:15:16.419 to summarize love supremacy. And what I've done 00:15:16.419 --> 00:15:18.679 here, I've taken a little bit of liberty because 00:15:18.679 --> 00:15:22.740 in the context, Paul is speaking to them about 00:15:22.740 --> 00:15:26.299 the focus they need to have. They lived in a 00:15:26.299 --> 00:15:29.000 complex world. They were a very gifted church. 00:15:29.220 --> 00:15:32.039 They had a lot going for them. And so I wanted 00:15:32.039 --> 00:15:35.639 to apply this passage to us. And so performing 00:15:35.639 --> 00:15:39.120 in your world with the greatest gifts and abilities 00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:45.149 without love, jot down. produces nothing. Performing. 00:15:45.549 --> 00:15:49.269 Some of us are good at performing because we 00:15:49.269 --> 00:15:51.850 have learned that when you perform, you get strokes 00:15:51.850 --> 00:15:54.629 and affirmation and strokes and affirmation. 00:15:54.649 --> 00:15:57.429 Although it's not like real love from in -depth 00:15:57.429 --> 00:15:59.950 relationships, it feels pretty good and it's 00:15:59.950 --> 00:16:05.389 a cheap substitute. Second, possessing the best, 00:16:05.409 --> 00:16:08.090 the finest, the most amazing things you can imagine 00:16:08.090 --> 00:16:12.610 without love, you become nothing. Now in the 00:16:12.610 --> 00:16:14.629 context here, he was talking about possessing 00:16:14.629 --> 00:16:17.950 these amazing gifts and what you possess in terms 00:16:17.950 --> 00:16:20.490 of position and privilege and what you possess 00:16:20.490 --> 00:16:22.870 in terms of the esteem of other people and what 00:16:22.870 --> 00:16:25.549 you possess in terms of reputation and how old 00:16:25.549 --> 00:16:28.190 are you and how quickly are you moving up and 00:16:28.190 --> 00:16:30.370 what you possess in terms of your little kids 00:16:30.370 --> 00:16:32.710 and can they hit the ball or run faster or farther 00:16:32.710 --> 00:16:36.519 than other little kids. And what you want to 00:16:36.519 --> 00:16:38.720 be known for, these get into the things that 00:16:38.720 --> 00:16:41.379 drive you. This is why so many people are living 00:16:41.379 --> 00:16:46.580 in SUVs and eating fast food five nights a week 00:16:46.580 --> 00:16:50.220 from minivan to minivan, from practice to practice. 00:16:50.500 --> 00:16:52.779 This is why people don't eat dinner together 00:16:52.779 --> 00:16:55.039 and don't have time to eat dinner together and 00:16:55.039 --> 00:16:57.100 why couples see each other briefly in the morning, 00:16:57.179 --> 00:16:59.960 see one another with blurry eyes and reconnect 00:16:59.960 --> 00:17:03.470 not very well at 10 o 'clock that night. And 00:17:03.470 --> 00:17:06.769 keep thinking, okay, there's more to do. There's 00:17:06.769 --> 00:17:09.049 more to get done. The to -do list is longer. 00:17:09.309 --> 00:17:11.950 I just got to keep it going. And then the lie, 00:17:12.130 --> 00:17:15.410 but when this season is over, it's always just 00:17:15.410 --> 00:17:18.829 a season. But it seems like the seasons stack 00:17:18.829 --> 00:17:24.569 up on one another. And third, sacrificially providing 00:17:24.569 --> 00:17:27.730 for those you love, the neediest, the greatest 00:17:27.730 --> 00:17:31.589 cause on earth without love profits you nothing. 00:17:33.710 --> 00:17:35.829 I mean, a lot of us with our motives and our 00:17:35.829 --> 00:17:37.390 heart, it's not like we're trying to live insane 00:17:37.390 --> 00:17:39.769 paced lives. I can't tell you how many people 00:17:39.769 --> 00:17:41.930 I've talked to said, I've tried to slow down. 00:17:42.069 --> 00:17:45.009 I've tried and I just keep getting pulled back 00:17:45.009 --> 00:17:48.210 into the rushing river of movement, demand. Now 00:17:48.210 --> 00:17:51.450 listen very carefully. Every time you buy into 00:17:51.450 --> 00:17:55.390 a lie and the biggest ones are so subtle, they're 00:17:55.390 --> 00:17:58.569 coated with such significant amounts of truth. 00:17:59.789 --> 00:18:01.650 That you feel like you're between the rock and 00:18:01.650 --> 00:18:04.549 the hard place and you can never get out. Here's 00:18:04.549 --> 00:18:10.230 what I wrote. Many of us live very hurried, overextended, 00:18:10.230 --> 00:18:14.529 complex lives with shallow superficial relationships 00:18:14.529 --> 00:18:18.829 even with our closest friends and families because 00:18:18.829 --> 00:18:23.950 we have unconsciously learned to believe. Performing 00:18:23.950 --> 00:18:29.400 well, possessing much, and providing stuff. is 00:18:29.400 --> 00:18:37.180 what life is all about. This is Living on the 00:18:37.180 --> 00:18:39.640 Edge with Chip Ingram, and you've been listening 00:18:39.640 --> 00:18:41.980 to part one of Chip's message, All You Need Is 00:18:41.980 --> 00:18:44.759 Love, from our series, Spiritual Simplicity. 00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:47.359 Chip will be back shortly to share some helpful 00:18:47.359 --> 00:18:50.259 application for us to think about. Have you ever 00:18:50.259 --> 00:18:52.460 felt like there's never enough time in the day 00:18:52.460 --> 00:18:55.279 for yourself, the people you love, even God? 00:18:55.960 --> 00:18:58.559 If you can relate, don't miss this series. Chip's 00:18:58.559 --> 00:19:00.700 going to challenge the unrealistic standards 00:19:00.700 --> 00:19:04.380 and expectations we all feel pressured by. Join 00:19:04.380 --> 00:19:06.720 us as we learn how to break free from this demanding 00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:09.599 cycle and discover the simpler, more fulfilling 00:19:09.599 --> 00:19:12.539 life God has in store for us. I hope you'll be 00:19:12.539 --> 00:19:15.519 with us for every part of this study. Chip's 00:19:15.519 --> 00:19:17.960 with me in studio now. Chip, since you're teaching 00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:20.400 from a pretty familiar passage in 1 Corinthians, 00:19:20.740 --> 00:19:22.619 highlight what you're wanting our listeners to 00:19:22.619 --> 00:19:25.440 walk away with. Why are these truths so necessary 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:28.079 for all of us right now? Well, that's a really 00:19:28.079 --> 00:19:31.180 great question, Dave. And it is a classic passage, 00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:35.000 right? 1 Corinthians chapter 13 are often called, 00:19:35.039 --> 00:19:37.259 you know, the love passage. Even people that... 00:19:37.720 --> 00:19:40.460 Don't think anything about religion or God or 00:19:40.460 --> 00:19:43.819 the Bible. Have read, you know, love is patient, 00:19:43.960 --> 00:19:46.900 love is kind, and is not envious. This kind of 00:19:46.900 --> 00:19:50.000 poem, if you will, by the Apostle Paul as he 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:52.680 was directed by the Holy Spirit. And it happens 00:19:52.680 --> 00:19:56.660 to be sandwiched in between two passages about 00:19:56.660 --> 00:19:59.140 how different we are and how we have different 00:19:59.140 --> 00:20:01.980 gifts and how we really need to take all of our 00:20:01.980 --> 00:20:05.160 differences and how they fit together. And the 00:20:05.160 --> 00:20:07.880 Apostle Paul says there's a more perfect way. 00:20:08.220 --> 00:20:10.579 There's a way for the church to get along. There's 00:20:10.579 --> 00:20:12.319 a way for people to get along. There's a way 00:20:12.319 --> 00:20:15.619 to, instead of comparing with one another and 00:20:15.619 --> 00:20:18.119 being against one another and seeing all the 00:20:18.119 --> 00:20:21.180 things where we're different, this is a passage 00:20:21.180 --> 00:20:23.299 that is sandwiched in between those differences 00:20:23.299 --> 00:20:26.500 that says the more perfect way is loving one 00:20:26.500 --> 00:20:29.619 another. And contrary to kind of popular culture, 00:20:29.740 --> 00:20:33.279 Dave, where love is basically a feeling and you 00:20:33.279 --> 00:20:36.920 hear love is love, well, love has some boundaries. 00:20:37.019 --> 00:20:39.900 It has some clarity. There's some objectivity 00:20:39.900 --> 00:20:43.480 to what it means to love a person. And this passage 00:20:43.480 --> 00:20:46.640 is very unique in that it's the way God is toward 00:20:46.640 --> 00:20:50.240 us. If love is patient, that means that God is 00:20:50.240 --> 00:20:54.440 patient. God is understanding. And in a world 00:20:54.440 --> 00:20:58.170 that is so polarized right now, in families, 00:20:58.329 --> 00:21:02.430 in politics, in racial conflict, in, you know, 00:21:02.430 --> 00:21:05.609 all the things that we face coming out of those 00:21:05.609 --> 00:21:09.089 years of pandemic. What's it look like to really 00:21:09.089 --> 00:21:13.109 love? Because love covers a multitude of sins, 00:21:13.230 --> 00:21:17.319 and love never fails. Thanks, Chip. Well, I hope 00:21:17.319 --> 00:21:19.299 you'll join us for every part of this series. 00:21:19.460 --> 00:21:21.700 And to help you get the absolute most out of 00:21:21.700 --> 00:21:23.799 Chip's teaching, let me encourage you to get 00:21:23.799 --> 00:21:26.140 his message notes. They include his outline, 00:21:26.440 --> 00:21:29.000 the verses he references, and some key fill -ins 00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:31.339 to help you remember what you hear. Download 00:21:31.339 --> 00:21:34.119 them under the Broadcasts tab at livingontheedge 00:21:34.119 --> 00:21:38.220 .org. App listeners, tap Fill in Notes. Well, 00:21:38.240 --> 00:21:40.160 now here's Chip with a few final thoughts from 00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:43.619 what we heard today. Thanks so much, Dave. You 00:21:43.619 --> 00:21:46.880 know, I want to repeat the very last line of 00:21:46.880 --> 00:21:49.900 today's message because it really struck me, 00:21:49.920 --> 00:21:53.420 and I'm guessing it struck you. Many of us live 00:21:53.420 --> 00:21:57.539 very hurried, overextended, complex lives with 00:21:57.539 --> 00:22:00.779 shallow, superficial relationships, even with 00:22:00.779 --> 00:22:03.400 our closest friends and families, because we 00:22:03.400 --> 00:22:06.220 have unconsciously learned to believe performing 00:22:06.220 --> 00:22:10.819 well, possessing much, and providing stuff is 00:22:10.819 --> 00:22:13.869 what life is all about. And I know intellectually 00:22:13.869 --> 00:22:17.130 as a follower of Jesus, you don't believe that. 00:22:17.269 --> 00:22:20.250 But the fact of the matter is our behavior, our 00:22:20.250 --> 00:22:23.529 rush, our hurry. Because I live out here in the 00:22:23.529 --> 00:22:25.829 Silicon Valley. I call it the Silicon Valley 00:22:25.829 --> 00:22:28.569 shuffle. How many of us, hey, let's get together. 00:22:28.670 --> 00:22:31.289 And, you know, yeah, someday, sometime. And then 00:22:31.289 --> 00:22:33.890 this badge almost of honor. Well, I'm really 00:22:33.890 --> 00:22:37.009 busy. And when things slow down, and you know 00:22:37.009 --> 00:22:39.569 what? We'll always be busy. Things never slow 00:22:39.569 --> 00:22:43.910 down. As we begin this journey about learning 00:22:43.910 --> 00:22:47.450 to do less and to love more, I'm going to ask 00:22:47.450 --> 00:22:50.509 you to really pause today, to pause and say, 00:22:50.690 --> 00:22:55.210 why am I in such a hurry? Where am I going so 00:22:55.210 --> 00:22:59.589 quickly? And why are tasks dominating my life? 00:22:59.750 --> 00:23:03.009 And who's the person in the cubicle next to me? 00:23:03.049 --> 00:23:05.849 Or how will I greet my roommate when I get home? 00:23:05.950 --> 00:23:09.630 Or my wife or my husband? Is it just hurrying 00:23:09.630 --> 00:23:11.769 the kids off to get them here and to get them 00:23:11.769 --> 00:23:15.190 there? Have you looked into their eyes? Have 00:23:15.190 --> 00:23:17.930 you wondered what's really going on inside? Do 00:23:17.930 --> 00:23:20.289 you have some margin where you can turn off the 00:23:20.289 --> 00:23:23.490 TV and everyone kind of shut off their screens 00:23:23.490 --> 00:23:27.170 and sit around a table and eat a meal and just 00:23:27.170 --> 00:23:30.069 say, what was your day like? How are you really 00:23:30.069 --> 00:23:34.210 doing? And pause before those kids go to bed 00:23:34.210 --> 00:23:37.950 and take your time. sit down on the bed, and 00:23:37.950 --> 00:23:39.990 if they're little, you can still tell them a 00:23:39.990 --> 00:23:42.670 story, and if they're older, you can just probe 00:23:42.670 --> 00:23:47.230 into their heart. Margin, unhurried lives develop 00:23:47.230 --> 00:23:50.829 deep relationships, and deep relationships is 00:23:50.829 --> 00:23:53.970 what fills our heart and gives us meaning. Could 00:23:53.970 --> 00:23:57.279 I encourage you? Let's live more simply. Great 00:23:57.279 --> 00:23:59.619 challenge, Chip. Let me take a second before 00:23:59.619 --> 00:24:01.740 we go and thank the generous people who support 00:24:01.740 --> 00:24:04.380 this ministry every month. Your faithful gifts 00:24:04.380 --> 00:24:07.180 help us inspire Christians to live like Christians. 00:24:07.500 --> 00:24:10.220 If you haven't partnered with us, would you prayerfully 00:24:10.220 --> 00:24:12.400 consider joining the Living on the Edge team? 00:24:12.579 --> 00:24:16.099 Now you can set up a monthly donation at livingontheedge 00:24:16.099 --> 00:24:31.349 .org or by calling us at You've been listening 00:24:31.349 --> 00:24:33.609 to a selected program that we wanted to share 00:24:33.609 --> 00:24:36.069 from this past week. To hear more from Chip's 00:24:36.069 --> 00:24:39.789 series, Spiritual Simplicity, go to livingontheedge 00:24:39.789 --> 00:24:43.450 .org or wherever you listen to podcasts. Until 00:24:43.450 --> 00:24:46.230 next time, I'm Dave Drewy saying thanks for listening 00:24:46.230 --> 00:24:49.170 to this weekend edition of Living on the Edge.