Love “seeketh not her own”. (1 Corinthians 13:5, KJV)

In Britain the Englishman is devoted, and rightly, to his rights. But there come times when a man may exercise even the higher right of giving up his rights. Yet Paul does not summon us to give up our rights. Love strikes much deeper. It would have us not seek them at all, ignore them, eliminate the personal element altogether from our calculations. It is not hard to give up our rights. They are often external. The difficult thing is to give up ourselves. (Henry Drummond, The Greatest Thing In The World, 1891)

Unfortunately these days, it is not hard to find examples of selfishness in this world. We see it on the roads. We see it in the stores. We see it in our homes. Impatience, unkindness, rudeness because someone is not getting their way, their needs met, their interests considered. Fear of not getting what they feel they need or feel they deserve. Fear of being taken advantage of or being taken for granted. At the center of all this is “What about me.”

And here in 1 Corinthians we see that we are not to seek our own interests, but the interests of others. For some this may cause fear or even anger to rise up in their hearts. Why? Because they don’t really know the love of the Father. When you really know how much He loves you and that He has your best interest in His heart, you are now free to love without a care in the world.

Spend time daily in the Presence of Love Himself. Let His Words of Love penetrate your heart. Let the Spirit of Love overwhelm you with a sense of being loved by your heavenly Father. Receive the love that He has for you.

How will you know that you are receiving His love? You will be overwhelmed by a sense of peace and joy. And you will find that in your interactions with others, you are not the center of your focus. You will not be looking for what they can do for you, but what you can do for them. You will not be afraid of what your interaction with this person might cost you. You will be free to love because you know the King of the Universe loves you and He is taking care of you.

The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? (Psalm 118:6, KJV)

Love is on your side. Get in the flow of that love by trusting in Him and in His love for you, and by loving Him and letting Him freely love others through you.