How to Show Love to a Demanding or Selfish Person

In review of 1 Corinthians 13:7 it says, “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance” (NLT).

Today’s verse is from 1 Corinthians 13:7 where Paul reminds me that  Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres.

Society confuses love and lust. Unlike lust, God's kind of love is directed outward toward others, not inward toward myself. It is utterly unselfish. This kind of love goes against my natural inclinations. It is impossible to have this love unless God helps me to set aside my own natural desires so that I can love and not expect anything in return. This, the more I become like Christ, the more love I will show to others.

Love like this can be absolutely exhausting. Don’t let anyone fool you. The kind of love that really makes a difference in this world will zap everything out of you.

Sometimes I may not feel like I have any more love to give. I think, “I just can’t face another need, another problem, or another heartache.” So I shut down. Or I need to show love to a particular person who is demanding, acts selfishly, and never returns my love. And I think, “I’m done. No more.”

While that’s a perfectly natural and entirely human response, it’s not the standard of love God calls me to in the Bible. Today’s verse reminds me that, “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance” (1 Corinthians 13:7 NLT). Love never gives up.

In order to have this kind of persistent love for another person, I need to get refueled.

To give the kind of persistent love that God wants me to give, I have to refuel my love tank. Look around at society, and I’ll see it’s littered with debris from relationships that have crashed and burned because people didn’t refuel their love.

How do I refuel my love tank? I start by letting God love me. “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19 NIV). When I’m worn out, tired, and unable to imagine showing love to anyone else, remember that God loved me so much that he sent his Son to die for me.

Just last night one of my small group members put together a time of remembrance for what Christ did for us on the cross and with his resurrection. He did this though our own form of the Lord’s supper and watching clips from the “Passion” which provided a visual representation of what Christ endured for us in his trial, beatings and crucifixion. When we see it visually represented it’s more powerful than just reading it. It’s also a way for me to look back at what he endured to show his love to me and to bring me back to the Father, something that I would never be able to do myself.

Now that’s real fuel. It’s what should keep me going when I want to quit.

Bottom Line:

Love never gives up or loses faith, it is always hopeful

What this means to me:

To love someone, I'll need to be loyal, no matter what the cost. I will always believe in them, always expect the best of them, and always stand my ground in defending them.

In summary, Love is always protective, trusting, hopeful and it always perseveres. Unlike human love (lust), God's kind of love is directed outward toward others and not inward toward myself. It is utterly unselfish. It is impossible to have this kind of love unless God helps me set aside my own desires so that I can love without any expectation of anything in return. Love of this type never gives up. In order for me to have this kind of persistent love for others, I need to get refueled. So how do I refuel? By letting God love me. Remembering that God loved me so much that he sent his son to take my punishment and die for me.

Today Father, I pray that I can relax in your love knowing how much you care for me, and letting it refuel me so that I can display your kind of love to others. I also pray for your wisdom and guidance in handling this list of things I need to do for work, in how to organize the work to help manage the team's activities, how I provide leadership to them and how I interact with others. I pray this through your Son who sacrificed greatly to bring me into a relationship with you.