Love is patient, love is kind

This Blog’s title is from the Christian Bible: Apostle Paul’s first epistle (letter) to communicants in the Church of Corinth. The full passage is often read at weddings and I have it posted on my computer monitor.

Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast,

it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking,

it is not easily angered,

it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil,

but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts,

always hopes, always preserves

Love never fails

Not long ago, I bloged about tensions that come with the end of the academic year and graduation. Often, these times provide daunting opportunities to practice the way of loving that Paul described, in the company of close family members and more distant relatives.

Perhaps you have a close relative like one of mine. For him, “unconditional love” is an alien, even perverse concept. Love is a scarce resource, only to be accorded – very rarely – only to those who are deserving. In his view, the principal function of relationships within a family is critical “truth telling” intended to ensure that fellow family members do not become too secure in their self-esteem. Sometimes his (possibly) well-indended crticisms border on abuse.

I am tempted to post, surreptitiously, an 18 point bold face print of Paul’s passage on my relative’s computer monitor!

But Paul’s message is not about how I should instruct others to behave toward me, but how I should behave toward them, including, especially, my relative.

Some years ago, I asked a friend who had recently celebrated her 50^th wedding anniversary to tell me the secret of her long marriage.

“It ain’t easy” the old lady replied.