Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Our shout-out today goes to Robert Jae from Harvest, AL. Thanks for your partnership in Project23. We cannot do this without donors like you.

Our text today is 1 Corinthians 13:5-6.

It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. — 1 Corinthians 13:5-6

Are you fighting for truth—or for yourself?

That's the edge of this scripture today

Let's break this down

"Love does not insist on its own way." Literally, it does not seek its own. This is the tension of most church conflicts—and most "truth debates."

My preference. My timeline. My comfort. My recognition. My, my, my wrapped in spiritual language.

Corinth insisted on its rights. My freedom. My knowledge. They divided over personalities. They defended themselves quickly and forgave slowly.

Paul says: that is not love. Love does not revolve around self, even when self claims to be defending truth.

Love also "is not irritable." The word carries the idea of being easily provoked—thin-skinned, quick to flare.

And love "is not resentful." This is an accounting phrase. Love does not keep a ledger of wrongs. It does not file offenses for later mental review. If you replay conversations in your head… If you store old wounds for leverage… If you withdraw when crossed… If you justify sharpness because you're correct… If you feel more energized by winning than by restoring… Paul says that is not love.

And then he adds something clarifying. Something our morally lost world needs to hear about love.

Love "does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth." Love is not moral indifference. It is not soft on truth. It does not celebrate sin for the sake of peace.

On the flip side, it also does not weaponize truth to win arguments.

The real question is not simply, "Am I right?" but "Why am I fighting?"

Is your real goal restoration or vindication? Then choose words—and a tone—that aim to win your brother and sister in Christ, not the debate.

DO THIS:

Think of one relationship where you have been easily provoked or quietly keeping score. Release the ledger. Choose one tangible act of reconciliation or kindness.

ASK THIS:

1. Do I insist on my own way—even when I am technically right?
2. Where am I thin-skinned instead of thick-skinned in love?
3. Am I fighting for truth—or for myself?
4. Do I use truth to restore—or to control?

PRAY THIS:

Lord, free me from self-seeking instincts. Guard me from keeping score. Teach me to rejoice in truth for the good of others, not for the defense of myself. Shape in me the self-giving love of Christ. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

"When I Survey the Wondrous Cross"

Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Our shout-out today goes to Brad Guck from Perham, MN. Thanks for your partnership in Project23. We cannot do this without donors like you.

Our text today is 1 Corinthians 13:4-5.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful. — 1 Corinthians 13:4-5

Are you being puffed up—or are you building others up?

That is Paul's question.

Previously in this letter, he repeatedly used the word physioō (φυσιόω)—"to puff up," to inflate with pride (1 Corinthians 4:6, 4:18–19, 5:2, 8:1). Knowledge puffs up, he said, but love builds up.

Now, in chapter 13, he shows us what that looks like.

If you want to know whether your motivation is right, don't look at your puffed-up gifts. Look at whether they are building others up.

Paul defines the loving use of our gifts—but not the way we expect.

He does not start with emotion in this text

He starts with restraint.

Love is patient. Love is kind.

And then he turns negative.

Love does not envy. Love does not boast. It is not arrogant. It is not rude. It does not insist on its own way. It is not irritable. It keeps no record of wrongs.

The word "arrogant" in this text carries the same idea Paul has been correcting all along—puffed up. Inflated. Swollen with self-importance.

This chapter is a direct confrontation with the puffed-up pride behind their spiritual gifts within the church.

Corinth envied the visible gifts. They boasted about their spirituality. They divided over leaders. They insisted on their rights. They flaunted freedom. They ranked one another.

They were puffed up.

And Paul says that none of that builds up.

Notice how many of these traits target the ego.

Envy compares. Boasting advertises. Arrogance inflates. Rudeness disregards. Insisting on your own way centers your will. Irritability reveals entitlement. Resentment stores ammunition.

Love dismantles every one of those.

Love does not puff up because it is not focused on self.

Love builds up because it is focused on others.

Here is the point: you can operate in powerful gifts and still be deeply inflated. But if others are not strengthened, encouraged, and built up through you, it is not love.

And without love, nothing else matters.

DO THIS:

Identify one area where you've been easily irritated or defensive. Instead of protecting your ego, intentionally build someone else up this week—with encouragement, patience, or quiet service.

ASK THIS:

1. Am I using my knowledge or gifting in a way that puffs me up—or builds others up?
2. Where is pride disguising itself as conviction?
3. Would those closest to me say I strengthen them—or strain them?

PRAY THIS:

Lord, expose pride that inflates my ego. Guard me from being puffed up by knowledge, success, or gifting. Make me an instrument of love that builds others up for the glory of Christ. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

"Humble and Kind"

Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Our shout-out today goes to Daniel DeGrote from Corona, CA. Thanks for your partnership in Project23. We cannot do this without donors like you.

Our text today is 1 Corinthians 13:1-3.

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 up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. — 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

You can preach powerfully, speak mysteriously, give sacrificially—and still be nothing. Because the issue is not the size of the gift. It is the motive behind it.

That's not hyperbole.

That's the truth of Scripture.

Paul has just finished correcting their obsession with spiritual gifts in chapter 12. They loved power. Sought visibility. Pursued manifestations.

Now he dismantles it. But he doesn't minimize the gifts. He maximizes them. Tongues of angels. Mountain-moving faith. Prophetic power. Extreme martyrdom. The most impressive spiritual résumé imaginable.

And then he says:

Without love? Noise. Nothing. No gain.

This is a devastating text for those who choose to be seen for the wrong reasons.

You see, the church in Corinth equated spirituality with intensity. Spectacle. Status.

Paul says the metric isn't the measure of your power. It is the measure of your love. And love here is not an emotional sentiment. It's not a personality style. It is the measure of spiritual authenticity.

You see, a believer can defend doctrine and still destroy people. You can serve publicly and still resent privately. You can sacrifice visibly and still crave recognition.

And if love is not the driving motivation—self-giving love shaped by Christ—the whole purpose of the gift is lost.

Notice the repetition Paul drives home on these points:

"I am a noisy gong…"
"I am nothing…"
"I gain nothing…"

Not your gift is nothing.

You are nothing, because the motivation is wrong.

That's a severe correction from Paul, in the love chapter of the Bible. And it's meant to be corrective

Because gifts can look impressive to crowds, but only love—rightly motivated love—actually builds the church.

Gifts can draw attention to ourselves. But gifts wrapped in the motivation of self-giving love draw people to Christ.

Jesus didn't just display power.

He laid down his life in self-giving love.

And that is the standard.

Do you need to address your motivation today?

Examine your service, leadership, and ministry this week. Don't just ask, "Was I effective?" Ask, "What was driving me?" and "Was I loving?"

ASK THIS:

1. Am I more concerned with being impressive or being faithful in love?
2. Where might pride be hiding behind visible spiritual activity?
3. Would the people closest to me describe me as loving—or simply competent?

PRAY THIS:

Father, guard me from giftedness without love. Expose motives that seek recognition instead of Christ. Form in me the self-giving love of Jesus so that what flows from me reflects him. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

"Better Word"