In the name of love, we've all done some pretty
stupid things. I could tell some pretty embarrassing
stories about in the name of love, I love someone,
and then I just did something absolutely idiotic.
Today, we're going to help you not make some
of those very same mistakes. Stay with me. Welcome
to this weekend edition of Living on the Edge
with Chip Ingram. The mission of this daily program
is to intentionally disciple Christians through
the insightful Bible teaching of Chip Ingram.
You know, it should go without saying that love
is the cornerstone of every relationship. However,
today, as we revisit another program from our
series Spiritual Simplicity, Chip reminds us
that without proper boundaries and guardrails,
love can actually be very damaging to us. If
you're ready to learn how, Go again to 1 Corinthians
chapter 13 in your Bible as we join Chip for
today's talk. Has anyone noticed that each of
the titles of the messages has been the title
of a song? Have you picked that up? Right? You
know, we had Tina Turner, what's love got to
do with it? All you need is love. And well, I'm
kind of on a roll. This is going to be the title
of a song. And what I love is that some of the
songs I had to preface it with, like if you were
born, you know, maybe you've heard this on an
oldie station. The title of the song is actually
the most sung song by U2 in any of their concerts.
It was one of their early hits. So here we have
a song in the name of love that at the core of
the lyrics, if you read the lyrics, they don't
make a lot of sense. Here's what hit me. All
of us. in the name of love, do things that don't
make sense. I mean, in the name of love, sometimes
we do very, very good things, but they just don't
make sense. And so I came across, here's a little
poem. If you'll get your notes out. On the very
front, here's some things that in the name of
love, and by the way, there's no criticism here.
This is like genuine, sincere, in the name of
love, I really want to do what's best. I really
want to care for people. I want to be a good
person. But in the name of love, we give and
give and give some more, yet still feel guilty
for not giving more. In the name of love, we
get up early and come home late, leaving little
time or energy. In the name of love, we're always
on the go, but love requires the gear of slow.
In the name of love, we start them early so they'll
be a star, and then we spend our weekends in
the car. In the name of love, we buy them computers
and fancy phones, only discover they feel all
alone. In the name of love, we celebrate their
role on the traveling team and wonder later why
at church they're rarely seen. And in the name
of love, we make success what we reward, but
show little passion. for God's word. See, there's
a lot of really good things with a lot of really
good motives that if the means becomes the end
or if there's a little shift over time in the
name of love, in our minds and hearts and motives,
we often think we're doing some really good things
that produce some really bad results. And that's
the question I want to address this morning here
in part four. Why do so many good things so often
result in so many bad lives? I want to do a quick
review before we talk about how love responds
to misplaced priorities because the issue isn't
someday, some way that we try to be more loving.
These are the kind of things we have to practice
in real time. Situation number one is how does
love respond to hurts? The truth is love is patient
and kind. The practice we learned is when you're
hurt, wounded, rejected, or ignored, love, remember
the pillow, absorbs a blow. It's not fair. It
hurts. You rejected. But then by God's grace,
returns a hug. Situation number two is how love
responds to differences. The text says love doesn't
envy. It doesn't boast. It's not rude. It's not
self -seeking. It's not easily angered. It keeps
no record of wrongs. The practice is love celebrates
differences. And remember the principle about
loving? Love refuses to compare. Third situation
is how does love respond to failure? The truth
was verses six through eight. Love does not delight
in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It always
protects, it always trusts, it always hopes,
it always perseveres. Love never fails. The practice
is love responds to failure, remember, with both
truth and grace. Now the Apostle Paul is going
to address these Corinthians because they are
self -centered. They are more concerned about
who does what and who has what. And their priorities
in the church are absolutely out of whack. And
so the Apostle Paul is going to write to him,
situation number four, how does love respond
to misplaced priorities? You can jot that in
your notes if you would. And he answers, here's
the truth. Love never fails. Where there are
prophecies, they'll cease. Where there's tongues,
they will be stilled. Where there's knowledge,
it'll pass away. Then he gives us the reason.
For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
but when the perfection comes, and put a circle
around perfection, will you? We'll come back
and address that. When the perfection comes,
the imperfect disappears. And now he gives us
an illustration. He's going to give us some help
about how to get your priorities in order. He
says, when I was a child, I talked. like a child
i thought like a child and i reasoned like a
child when i became a man i put away childish
things in your notes will you underline the word
talked underline the word think and underline
the word reasoned there are three key verbs now
we see but a poor reflection as an emir then
we shall see face to face now i know in part
then i shall know fully even as i'm fully known
And now these three remain, faith, hope, and
love. But the greatest of these is love. And
so the practice here is love ruthlessly refuses
to allow temporal good things to crowd out the
eternal best things. And when you put a box around,
I mean, I chose these words very carefully. Ruthlessly
refuses. Put a box around that phrase. And I
want to give you a little warning. What we're
going to talk about is where a lot of the rubber
really meets the road. If you want to simplify
your life, if you want to find yourself three
months, three years, five years, 10 years down
from here and say to yourself, you know something?
I love God now like I never dreamed I could experience.
I have relationships like I never dreamed. There's
issues in my family that have come together that
I never thought I would ever experience. A lot
of it is going to come down to you hearing today.
what God says to you, and then you taking some
very specific, and I mean, there'll be radical
steps. We will not talk about how to tweak your
schedule and get five or 7 % more time to do
a few more important things. We're gonna talk
about priorities that if you get serious about
what God wants, you're gonna have to say to certain
whole sections of your life, you know something?
That's been way up here. You know what? For a
season, I just need to stop doing that. I got
to get refocused at a new level about what really,
really matters. Love ruthlessly. Ruthlessly.
That means, oh, I don't want, if I do that, she'll
get mad at me. If I do that, I want to do that.
Well, I get a lot of strokes out of that. Well,
that's one of my hobbies and I really, and so
you keep trying to tweak and what happens? Seven
days later, you're as overscheduled, over -demand,
overwhelmed as you were two weeks before. You're
really smart people. If tweaking a little bit
here or there was the solution, you would have
solved this a long time ago. So let's look at,
okay, God, help us. How do we ruthlessly refuse
to allow? Notice it's not bad things. The things
that eat you up, they're not bad things. They're
temporal. They're really good things. But the
good is always the enemy of the best. His thesis
here is that love is supreme. Love is our number
one priority. That phrase, love never fails,
it's kind of a hinge. And then it kind of opens
the door to how love responds to misplaced priorities.
The word fails 70 different times in the New
Testament. It's translated, love never falls.
It means love will never be corrupted. Love will
never cease. Love is permanent. Love lasts. He's
saying loving God and loving people is the number
one priority in your life. And see, what we've
got to do is step back and say, okay, if someone
picked up my schedule, If someone picked up where
all my money went, if someone could pick up and
read my mind about where my thoughts are when
I didn't have something to do, would my thoughts
and my time and my money and my energy and my
actions tell the story that, wow, this person
really loves God and really loves people? Or
would it... They listen to my words and say,
this person says and thinks and actually is deluded
into believing they really love God and really
love people. But when you look at their time,
their money, their dreams, their schedule, and
their energy, it looks like they really love
themselves a lot. And they really have believed
a few lies. That's what he's dealing with that
church then. And that's what he's talking to
us about today. The contrast. He says love is
supreme. Love's the number one priority. The
best of temporal things, the good, even spiritually
beneficial, powerful gifts are far less important
than love. I mean, isn't that exactly what he
says? Look at second half of verse eight. There's
a big word. Love never fails, but, but, where
there's prophecies, they'll cease. Where there's
tongues in and of themselves, they're gonna go
away. Where there's knowledge, I mean, even the
great mysteries of God. So the Apostle Paul,
if you study this book carefully, remember he
told him in chapter 12, prophecy is the most
important of all the gifts. And now he comes
back and says, you know, even that one's going
away. The Corinthians believed that tongues was
the most important gift. He goes, well, yours
is going away. And they said, we would both agree
that, I mean, knowledge, the very mystery and
knowledge of life and God. He says, that's going
to go away. And those are the things, those are
about ministry. Those are about the kingdom of
God. I mean, prophecy and tongues and knowledge.
And he says, wait a second, compared to love,
they're not the number one priority. You're listening
to Living on the Edge. We'll return you to Chip's
message in just a minute. But let me quickly
share with you, God has called us to do incredible
ministry work all around the world. And when
you partner with us financially, you're part
of what we do. So if you'd like to join us, go
to livingontheedge .org. We appreciate you giving
whatever God leads you to give. Well, with that,
here's Chip. The reason he gives us in verse
9 and 10, the reason is because they don't last.
They're temporal. Could you put a line under,
they don't last? Because this is what he's trying
to get into their mind and into their heart.
He says, for we know in part, we prophesy in
part, but when perfection comes, when the perfect
comes, a lot of debate on this, but the clearest
explanation, things are going to be completed
when Jesus comes back. I mean, I don't mean the
rapture. I don't mean when he comes back. I mean,
when the second coming of Christ, when the absolute
completion and perfection of all things gets
sealed. There won't be any need for prophecy,
won't be any need for tongues. The knowledge
won't be in part, it'll be face to face. We're
gonna know him fully just as we've been already
fully known. And what he's saying is, look, you
guys are so into and arguing about and stressed
and pulled in all these directions about some
very good things, but what prophecy and knowledge,
all they have in common is they're temporal.
It's not that they don't matter at all. It's
like helping your kids learn sports at an early
age or wanting them to get into a good college
or wanting to be upwardly mobile or getting some
extra training or wanting to do well in your
job. Those aren't bad things, are they? I mean,
if you would walk through carefully later today
the list of things that I put on the front page
of your notes, every single one of those has
a really good, isn't it good to be giving? Yeah,
it's good to be giving, but if you give, give,
give, give, give, give, and don't honor God and
take some time to get renewed, then guess what?
You just feel guilty and burned out. I mean,
it's good to help your kids grow, but if your
whole world is traveling around in minivans and
SUVs and all your weekends are taken up helping
your kids hit balls and kick balls and chase
balls to where you're never together and connected
from the heart. See, some good means, some very
good things, but it's sort of a wash. So we're
living in this world where, you know, you're
not a good dad if you don't do this. You're not
a good mom if you don't do that. I mean, you're
never going to make it as a single person unless
you go here, go here, go here, do this, do this.
I mean, you're not successful and significant
unless you have a bag that looks like this, a
watch that looks like this, and a car that drives
like that. You want to make it or not? And you've
got to start asking, make what? So yeah, that's
right. So what do you want to make? You want
to make it big and go through a couple marriages?
You want to make it big and have kids that don't
know your name and don't care about you? You
want to make it big and be successful? Some people,
they do it in ministry. Every time the church
doors are open, they're here and doing this and
doing that. I was talking on the phone with a
guy from another country last night that I'm
going to do some ministry with in the future.
We just got off the phone and I just said, can
I just, you know, the guy's, he's a Harvard grad.
He's got theology. He teaches in a seminary.
He's in charge of this humongous, the administrative
side of a church of about 75 ,000 in another
country. And I said, just, is there one thing
I could pray for you? He said, yeah, there is
one thing. And I said, what is it? He goes, you
know, I have three almost full -time jobs and
there's all this demand. And my wife's very understanding,
but my daughter's eight. And she just doesn't
understand very much. I said, well, what do you
mean she doesn't understand? She goes, well,
I just don't see her very often. I said, what
do you mean you don't see her very often? I don't
see her. I mean, I work 12 to 14 hour days and
I'm gone early and I come home late. So I just
don't get to see her very much. And this is a
pastor. And I know that's not right. And it's
always followed by this, but. And I said, you
know, when I'm going to be in your country, you
know, in the near future, and why don't you and
I get some time? I've kind of lived where I was
tempted and struggled with some of those things.
I have four kids, and let's make that part of
our little time together. Now, I didn't tell
him, buddy, I'm going to build a little trust
with you, and I'm going to spiritually kick your
rear end as hard and as long as I can. And I'm
going to look you in the eye and say, do you
understand how good things, very good things,
in the name of love, produce some really bad
lives? I'll tell you, he's going to have a little
girl that doesn't like God, let alone love God,
and will wonder why the church or God took her
daddy away from her. And some of you are going
to have kids who wonder why the name of your
company did that. or your drive did that, or
golf did that, or your hobby did that, or the
speed of your life did that, or how, just because
your kids say, I want, I want, please, please,
yeah, yeah, yeah, and you cave into them, guess
what? You can give people what they want, but
if you don't give them what they need, they like
you for giving them what they want now, then
they hate you later for not giving them what
they need. That's the difference between parents
and kids. Picture that. helped me with this was
a guy named Jim Dethmer gave a message that really
helped me. And he had an illustration that I'd
like to just steal. Because, you know, there's
part of this theological when you say, what do
you mean? They'll fade away. They don't matter.
It's not like those good things you're doing
don't matter. It's not like ministry doesn't
matter. So what's it mean? What's the picture?
And I love the illustration he gave. He said,
imagine that we were having a big party, everyone
in the church, big party, all the services coming
together. And, you know, we rent a park and,
I mean, we're going to have ice cream and we're
going to have food and a barbecue and we're going
to celebrate. There's going to be great music.
And so we get like four or five of our best artists.
And we want you to create a sculpture that, I
mean, gives glory to God, that just magnifies
the artistic talent and ability that you have.
And here's this big room. It's about, you know,
30 feet by 40 feet. and this big block of ice
and you know, they're in there with chainsaws
and so they work for weeks and then they put
it on these rollers and we're thousands of us
and we're having music and here it is, this beautiful
fountain and it's out in 100 degrees and who
knows, maybe we could have chocolate coming out
of it or something but you know, there's swans
and I mean, it's just an amazing deal, right?
And you know, we stop and all of us are going,
wow. What can you believe? Man, unbelievable.
Do you see? That is the most amazing. How do
they do that with ice, right? You know, we're
all just like this. Three hours later, the party's
over. What they did was wonderful. Their energy
was wonderful. We appreciated it. But three to
four hours later, some of us are volunteering,
cleaning up the chairs. We're picking up the
paper. The swan only has one arm. The thing's
melting. By dusk, a handful of us are just cleaning
up. And where that beautiful ice sculpture used
to be, there's just puddles of water. See, it's
not that what you are doing or what I'm doing
doesn't have any value. It's that it doesn't
have any value that lasts. And there's some of
us that will stand before the judgment seat of
Christ. And I just say this from God's loving
heart to you as a warning. And you will spend
your time and your energy doing very good things
that you think with all your heart are in the
name of love in your relationships, in your families,
and in your work. And you'll get near the end
of your life. And what you'll look back on is
just pools of water that have no significance.
And you wish you could turn back the clock. Before
we even go on in today's broadcast, I just want
to stop and I want to ask you, what aspect of
your life is like the ice sculpture? I mean,
it's not that it's not beautiful. It's not that
it's not something that looks pretty cool or
takes a lot of energy and effort, but it doesn't
last. And you know, sometimes God brings us some
emergencies, some things to jolt our life, because
we're talking about how love responds to misplaced
priorities. And we all have them to one degree
or another. And after many years of being a pastor,
I have a pretty good rhythm of my life in terms
of priorities and when I study and what I do.
But I'm like everybody else. You know, you get
tired and you slip into patterns where you watch
a little too much TV or, you know, kind of go
into a little denial and spend a little more
time on a hobby doing this or that. And it was
interesting. As soon as I found my wife had breast
cancer, it was like I know I needed to simplify
and not stop doing things that were wrong. But
I just knew, you know, for this season, I just
don't want to watch any TV. For this season,
I decided to, you know, I have my devotions in
the morning. For this season, I decided, you
know, before I go to bed, I'm just going to read
through the Gospels. I need to draw near to God.
I need to purify and clarify. And I believe that's
what God's saying to some of you. So let me ask
you, how much time goes into hobbies? How much
time is pursuing more money and more work? And
what's that going to look like later? Or how
many of you are just, I mean, overdosed on how
good you're going to be at this sport or that
sport or your SAT scores or what school that
you go into? Not sinful or bad or in and of itself,
but what does that produce in the long haul if
it consumes your heart and your life? I mean,
how much time goes into fantasy football and
passing on YouTube funny things to other people?
How much of our life just is consumed with playing
and eating and watching and not asking the big
question, why am I here? What am I to accomplish?
Am I rightly aligned with God? Do I have peace
in my heart? And am I loving people around me?
The word amuse means uh means against and muse
means to think. Amusement means to not think.
And as someone has rightly said in our culture,
we're amusing ourselves to death. Let me encourage
you to take stock today to evaluate where your
priorities are and then make one specific step
toward clearing the decks for some extra time
with God to get some clarity from Him. Thanks
for the reminder, Chip. And if you're looking
for practical help to recommit your life to Jesus,
let me recommend Chip's book, True Spirituality,
Becoming a Romans 12 Christian. Through this
resource, he'll walk you through how to become
a genuine follower of Christ. Order your copy
of True Spirituality by going to specialoffersatlivingontheedge
.org. Maybe even get two for you and a friend
to study together. We want to help you grow in
your walk with Jesus, and this tool will help.
Well, Chip's still with me. And Chip, many of
those listening right now wholeheartedly believe
in the work and mission of living on the edge
and are considering becoming a financial partner,
but haven't yet because they think their gift
is too small or won't make that big a difference.
What would you say to them? Dave, you know, a
lot of people think that, but the fact of the
matter. It's not just a person giving, say, $10
or $25 or $30 or $50 or whatever they think seems
to be insignificant with the huge needs that
there are to help people here and around the
world. It's the combined efforts. I mean, think
right at this moment. I mean, over a million
people are going to listen on a radio broadcast,
a podcast, or on the app. I mean, a million people.
If just a few thousand, say if 10 ,000 gave $10
a month. Can you imagine what we could do here
and around the world? So I just want to encourage
some of you who... just don't feel like you have
enough to give or it wouldn't make much of a
difference, would you pray and say, Lord, I will
just give whatever you would lead me to give?
And could you know when you do that, it's a lot
like the widow's mite. God will honor it and
we'd be very grateful. Thanks, Chip. If joining
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Chip's series, Spiritual Simplicity, go to livingontheedge
.org or wherever you listen to podcasts. Until
next time, I'm Dave Drewy saying thanks for listening
to this weekend edition of Living on the Edge.