She Works His Way: 7 Gospel Truths for Working WomenExemplo

You’ve probably heard the verses you read today shared at nearly every wedding you’ve attended. Coined “The Love Chapter,” it often serves as the standard to which we are held in loving one another.

And it’s a good standard to use. Your marriage will certainly thrive if you put this into practice. But the original audience was not at a wedding, and the context of the chapter isn’t about marriage; it’s about how we are to use the gifts God gives us.

Paul’s letters were not written in chapters and verses (those were added later to make referencing easier), so rather than reading this passage as an isolated discourse on love, we must read it as Paul’s continuation of a discussion of spiritual gifts that starts in 1 Corinthians 12 and continues into Chapter 14.

Here’s what was happening in the Corinthian church: Instead of serving their intended purpose of strengthening and unifying the church, spiritual gifts were dividing it. Hierarchies developed, depending on an individual’s spiritual gift, creating competition and comparison—the enemies of unity. 

What was happening then still happens today. We misunderstand, and subsequently misuse, spiritual gifts. Instead of being used to serve God and others, gifts are used to inflate our own egos or they go unused by immature recipients. And as our world becomes increasingly autonomous, layers of comparison and competition still keep the church divided instead of functioning as a body.

Paul starts by setting the church at Corinth straight about what spiritual gifts are, and then he moves on to make sure they know how to use them: with love. 

According to Paul, saying the right words without love reduces them to noise that distracts, and doing the right actions without love robs both you and the gift of all purpose and effectiveness.

Let those words sink in. Without love, our gifts are merely distractions, purposeless and ineffective. Love is the difference in whether our gifts are useful to God, not our level of skill. 

I’m certainly not against skill, but remember: Jesus said we would be identifiable as His by our love (John 13:35)—not because we’re the best.

Father, You are the giver of every skill I have. Forgive me when I’ve allowed Your gift to inflate my own ego or importance or to immaturely go unused as if Your gifts were solely for my benefit. Help me desire You, God, not Your gifts. And make me grateful for the gifts You’ve given to others. Rather than the measurements the world uses, help me to measure my gifts with the love that goes with them. Amen.

Learn more about our book, She Works His Way: A Practical Guide to Do What Matters Most in a Get Things Done World.

This Bible Plan is adapted from the book, She Works His Way: A Practical Guide to Do What Matters Most in a Get Things Done World, with permission from Bethany House. Content has been altered for brevity.