WORKS VS. FAITH The other night I had more family members at my dinner table than I had planned for, and consequently everyone was going to get small portions of the entrée. This upset me quite a bit, and in my stressed-out state I said some unkind things. Somewhere deep inside me is the belief that I have to do everything right to be successful and to be a good person. Then when things don’t go smoothly, I come unglued. I knew that the Lord was not seeing the situation as I was. In His sweet and gentle way, He reminded me that He is in favor of serving others in love, not serving others in order to feel good about oneself. Since love is His highest priority, I decided to read about godly love in First Corinthians 13. There was good news and bad news. The bad news: If we have not love, we are nothing. The good news: God is love, and His Spirit lives in His people. So all the qualities of love that are listed in 1 Corinthians 13 are qualities that every Christian has been given. Now there’s a reason to feel good about oneself! Just because I don’t always behave in a loving way doesn’t mean I am an unloving person, though Satan would surely want me to think that. As I looked at 1 Corinthians 13, I realized that over the years the Lord has been helping me to grow in love, as He does with all of His children. Thank You, Lord!