The Love and Truth Balance

Love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own.

1 Corinthians 13: 4-5

In John MacArthur’s book, Twelve Ordinary Men – How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness, and What He Wants to Do with You, we read about the necessity of developing balance in one’s life between love and truth. MacArthur writes, “It is wonderful to have a high regard for the truth, but zeal for the truth must be balanced by a love for people, or it can give way to judgmentalism, harshness, and a lack of compassion. It is fine to be hardworking and ambitious, but if ambition is not balanced with humility, it becomes sinful pride – self-promotion at the expense of others.”

Learning to love one another

Thus, over and over in the writings of the apostle John we read him admonishing others to love one another. And yet we study John’s life carefully we discover even he, dubbed as the apostle of love, had to learn to love others. We learn how John’s personality got him and his older brother James known as the Sons of Thunder because of their brash and loud personalities. Jesus had to teach them both to develop self-control and the other fruits of the Spirit. It didn’t come easy for them and it doesn’t come easy for us.

The balance between truth and love

Throughout his life, John wrote about the value of laying down one’s life for another – the truest definition of real love. But in his younger years, he was leaned heavily on truth rather than love. Again, Jesus had to model this delicate and healthy balance before these men. Jesus was both truthful and loving. As we seek to model our lives after our Savior, so must be work to achieve this balance between love and truth.

Speak the truth in love

When we engage with others today, we must ask ourselves if we are more concerned about proving we know the truth and we are right or are we sensitive as how to communicate our love first toward others? Certainly, we must never compromise truth. However, we must lean so heavily on our head knowledge that we leave no room love and compassion for those who may disagree with us.

Jesus perfectly represented the Father in all that He said and did. Scripture tells us that Jesus is the perfect representation of the Father and we should emulate Him. Like the apostle John, we too, have to develop humility, compassion, and kindness as demonstrated through our heart attitudes, our words, and our deeds. As we strive toward this healthy balance between truth and love, others will see the Savior in us.

Questions for Personal Reflection:

1. This week ask yourself if you tend to lean more heavily toward truth – meaning you see life in the black and white. Or do you lean more towards love and aren’t as concerned with the truth found in Scripture.
2. As you prayerfully consider your tendency toward one extreme or the other, study the Scripture verses where it speaks about the importance of a healthy balance between the two.
3. Today, commit to memory the Scripture verse 1 Corinthians 13:4-5. Spend time meditating on how to demonstrate this balance between being loving and faithful to God’s truth.