Peace, Love, and Fur Balls

I got so distracted with football and stinkin' winter that I forgot to share my column from this week's church bulletin. Some of it may sound familiar since I based it on a recent visit by our grand-pup. But I invite you to read on anyway...

Peace, love, and fur balls

Raise your hand if you’ve ever been at a wedding where 1 Corinthians 13 was one of the readings. Wow. Looks unanimous!

It does make sense. It’s a great passage for newlyweds who are about to embark on a lifetime together. They should know love is the foundation to get through the lean times and the mean times. But why do newlyweds get all the attention?

I can tell you after dog-sitting our grand-pup last weekend in a house that is run by a feline princess, there was some lack of love issues. Oh sure, we love our new grand-pup Rey and our 14-year-old “kitty” Sylvester. But our love for them certainly couldn’t endure growling and a real-life hissy fit. That took physical barricades. 

The result? There was peace. But no happiness. And definitely no love between the fur balls.

In human situations, we run into the same thing between siblings (read this chapter to your kids!), friends, neighbors, co-workers, sports teams, political parties… Why can’t we all just get along?

Let’s take another look at verses 4-8: Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous. It does not brag, does not get puffed up, does not behave indecently, does not look for its own interests, does not become provoked. It does not keep account of the injury. It does not rejoice over unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

What I see at the heart of love is a little thing I call respect. Respect is patient and kind, too. When you take a moment to not brag or boast your own ideas and opinions, but instead listen, that can make a world of difference. Maybe you still don’t agree, but at least you’ve exhibited some human decency – and a little less self-centeredness. 

It can go a long way.

So the next time you have the urge to bite someone’s head off or mark your territory, take a deep breath, and turn to 1 Corinthians 13. No tuxedo, white dress – or kennel – required.