The Actions of Agape Love – Part 2

The actions we are going to discuss today are again actions that are NOT agape love. In I Corinthians 13, we are given a list of characteristics that are apage love as well as those that are not apage love. These five characteristics that are the opposite of agape love are all very similar and, in fact, overlap each other. We are told that we are not to be haughty, vainglorious, full of pride, arrogant or conceited.

 
Haughty – blatantly and disdainfully proud; having or showing an attitude of superiority and contempt for people or things perceived to be inferior.
Vainglorious – characterized or exhibiting excessive vanity, boastful.
Pride – arrogant or disdainful conduct or treatment
Arrogant –having or displaying a sense of overbearing self worth or self importance; marked by or arising from a feeling or assumption of one’s superiority toward others.
Conceited – holding or characterized by an unduly high opinion of oneself, vain.
 
Are you seeing a pattern in the definitions of these five attitudes?  Anyone displaying these characteristics will be selfish or self-absorbed, they will look down on those that they feel are inferior to themselves, they will be vain, they will be boastful and they will treat others arrogantly.
 

So, what else does God have to say about these five characteristics?  Let’s find out.

 
The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.  Proverbs 3:18 (ESV)
 
I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.  Isaiah 13:11 (ESV)
 
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”  James 4:6 (ESV)
 
As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. James 4:16 (ESV)
 
There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.  Proverbs 6:16-19  (ESV)
 
These are just a very few of the scriptures that address pride, haughtiness, arrogance and boastfulness.  But, in all these verses, you can see that God hates these things.  He calls them evil, wicked and pompous.  He says that those displaying such attitudes are ruthless and evil with perverted speech.    He promises that they would be brought low.
 

Why does God hate pride, arrogance, haughtiness or conceit so much?  Apart from the fact that these attitudes are NOT the way we should treat others, they are the attitudes that were in Lucifer’s heart when he rose up against God Almighty.  They are the attitudes of rebellion.  And in 1 Samuel 15:23, God calls rebellion witchcraft.  None of these characteristics and attitudes are found in agape love.  They are a product of the sin nature.

 
The opposite of these five characteristics are humility, humbleness, gentleness, lowly, meek, considerate, courteous, deferent, polite, unassertive, yielding and submissive.  We do not become weak but rather consider others more highly than ourselves.  We do not display a false pride, are willing to persevere in hard situations, and deal kindly and considerately with others.  And we treat EVERYONE the same without partiality.
 

We can do this because the agape love of God resides within us.  Talk to yourself everyday.  Look in the mirror and tell yourself, “The love of God lives in me and flows out of me today.”  What you speak over yourself will become a reality in your life.  Say it, believe it, receive it.