The Value of Love

Free this and free that. They say nothing is free, but ‘they’ are wrong. Love is free. It costs nothing but pride. It costs nothing but the willingness to not be loved back. On the other hand, love is what gives everything else value.

Brethren, you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.  And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, then healers, helpers, administrators, speakers in various kinds of tongues.  Are all apostles?  Are all prophets?  Are all teachers?  Do all work miracles?  Do all possess gifts of healing?  Do all speak with tongues?  Do all interpret?  But earnestly desire the higher gifts.  And I will show you a still more excellent way.  If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

1^st Corinthians 12:27-31;13:1-8

Without love, good or bad, nothing has value. This is the lesson from Saint Paul today from his famous ‘love chapter’ of 1^st Corinthians. Without love every relationship is just a transaction. With love every transaction creates a relationship.

It may appear easy going from transaction to transaction. The world values each transaction by how much gain is achieved. More gain means more value. More value means more cost. More cost means more risk. More risk means more failure. More failure sends us off to another string of transactions. A transactional life is a lonely existence.

A relational life is only possible with love. Love creates our desire for each other’s success. Once we want for the success of others every transaction has become a relationship. Take for example the lives of the Unmercenary Saints.

Today the Church commemorates Saints Cyrus and John the Unmercenaries. Because of love they healed, never asking for payment. Because of love they offered their lives to protect innocent women from death. Because of love their story is remembered today and inspires countless medical professionals to offer their services in clinics free of charge.

Today I invite you to consider how love adds value to your work. Inspired by the words of Saint Paul today, challenge today’s transactions to become relationships through love. You might be surprised by the day you have.