Fruit of the Spirit 19 (Love thinks no Evil)

 Today, we will be discussing "Love thinks no evil" (1 Corithians 13:5)

So, what does it mean when the Bible says, "Love thinks no evil"? I see it in two ways, namely:

It means that one does not keep a record of wrongs done to them, nor do they dwell on the evil done to them or constantly ponder upon it.

Someone who is influenced by Christ's love does not impute evil or reckon it against the one who has committed it. Because someone who has received Christ's love understands the gravity of the sin they have committed, yet they have received forgiveness.

Therefore, It will not be a callous and unforgiving heart that keeps tabs on people's errors and mistakes. But when we have come to terms with the love we have received from Christ, we will not hold people captive with the evil they have done against us. We will not keep them in our hearts. Actually, when love encounters evil, love will displace it.

The reason we might harbor evil in our hearts is that we have not fully grasped the love of Christ that we have received. We miss it every day, and the Bible still tells us that new mercies every morning are available to us (Lamentation 3:22-23).
However, we enjoy mercy and grace on a daily basis even though we miss it every day.

Another way to understand it, which I want us to take note of, is that thinking evil means constantly being suspicious of it. Or you are always quick to attribute improper intentions to others and circumstances, even when you are not fully aware of the situation. Some people, when they see something, their first line of thought is from a negative point of view.

Do you know why we are predisposed to think evil? It is because we have not received the love of Christ in our hearts to govern it. For such hearts, It most times looks like their mindset has been programmed to just think evil. Many times, we see ourselves condemned, and so we will find it easy to gravitate towards condemning others.

As we see our unrighteousness magnified before our very eyes, that is why we find it very easy to magnify the unrighteousness of others. Beloved, can we begin to embrace the love of Christ today? Can we start accepting his love and believing in His Righteousness imputed in us?

For instance, if you have a flawed window, attempting to see the best objects through it will result in producing a flawed image. So the reason we are predisposed to think evil is that our thought life is filled with evil.

Philippians 4:8 guides us to keep our thoughts sacred by focusing on Christ and his goodness. Consider the beautiful things he is doing around you, in the lives of your friends, family, and relatives, and the church of God. Consider His beautiful work, and nature, and always see life from a lovely perspective.

But when we continually focus on the negative things around us, we tend to look for evil and become suspicious of people. Always looking for flaws and errors. Always looking for news that talks about the fall of someone. That will corrupt your thinking!

Even when it is obvious that someone has done evil, never take pleasure in reporting it. Instead, the love of God should govern our hearts in a way that we begin to think about how we can help the person in whatever mess they are in if we have the capacity. Or at least pray for that person. The Holy Spirit is always inclined to lift us out of our messy position because He loves us. So we must allow this love to work effectively within us so that we can always lift people from their mess instead of mocking them.

Written by Peter Ayoola Fakeye (PAF)