How to Show 1st Corinthians 13 Love

Paul says in 1st Corinthians 13, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs." Here are some explanations of what each of these aspects of love looks like practically and ways to live them out in your life.



Steps

1. Always be patient with others.
Know that God made each person differently. Some people might have strengths that you don't have, or you might have strengths that others don't.
Remember that not everyone is like you. You might naturally be a fast person and others are not, but don't expect them to be just as fast as you or get mad if they aren't. They are not less than you, just different. In some cases, being slower is better, because they can pay more attention to details.
If people aren't up to speed with you in any area, be patient with them. If they aren't as far along in their walk with God, let them be where they are, instead of trying to rush along their spiritual growth. Everyone grows at their own pace with God.
2. Remember to be kind to others.
However your mom was with you, if she was generally a good mom, be that way with others. Be gentle with others.
A good trick for this is imagine that everyone in your life is a little baby, or an elderly person. You might then be a lot more kind to them.
Also it helps to remember that everyone has battles they are facing in their own lives.
If someone is rude to you, try to understand where they are coming from. If you understand someone's past, it makes it a lot easier to be kind and merciful to any mistakes they make in the present. Amen.
3. Don't envy other people for what they have.
The best antidote for envy is to be grateful for what God has already blessed you with. The more thankful you are, the less envious you will be of others.
Try writing a list every day of all the things you are thankful for.
4. Don't boast or brag to others. That is not loving.
Trying to get other people to be jealous of you is not love. Trying to show that you are better than others is not loving.
Our only boast can be in Christ, because without him in our lives, we would be nothing. Any good that we can do or accomplish, God enabled us to do it.
There really is no place for boasting for anyone. As the Bible says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above."
5. Remember to not be proud.
Love sacrifices for others. Love thinks of others before itself.
To be proud is the think of yourself as number one. Pride is when you ignore almost everyone else and your focus is always on yourself. That is not love.
Pride can be seen in two opposite forms; either people have pride in thinking they are way better than they are, or people have pride in thinking overly lowly of themselves. The reason why the second one is pride is because they expect perfection of themselves, and when they fall short, they are depressed. No one should expect perfection of themselves since no one is capable of it. On one side a person sets the bar too low so they always think they are great, and on the other side people set the bar way too high so they think they are horrible. Both are wrong.
Humility is in the middle of these two extremes.
6. Always honor others; always show them respect.
Men are not the only ones that care about being respected, women do too.
To honor is to speak well of someone to others.
To honor is to treat them like a king when you are around them.
Always ask yourself, "If this person was Jesus, how would I treat them right now?" Jesus said whatever you do to the least of these you do to him.
And if the person is a Christian, when you offend them, you do grieve God's Holy Spirit. So always honor and respect others.
7. Don't be self-seeking.
Think about what other people might want.
If you are married, don't just pick the movies or restaurants that you want; ask your spouse what they want.
In any relationship, it will be much better if we ask others what they want. Seek to meet the needs of others and not just your own.
8. Try to not be easily angered.
Don't be touchy. Don't be easily offended by what people say or do. Try to have a thick skin about things. Learn to not let people affect you as much.
Keep your cool in every situation, because if you blow up, any who see you blow up won't have much respect for you.
A good verse to remember is "man's anger does not bring about the righteousness of God." Amen.
9. Don't keep a record of wrongs.
Don't keep a running tally of how many times your spouse etc. has said something mean to you.
When you fight with someone, don't pull everything they did wrong from the past 10 years. Let things go. Don't hold something over someone's head for too long. Let it go, forgive them, and move on.
10. Here is a final exercise that would be good for you to do: Try inserting your name before each of these things in the verse in 1st Corinthians 13. See if you could put your name in for each of those things. If not, think about how you can get better in each area.



Tips


Do a google search of verses on love and read them.
Write verses about how to be loving on notecards and tape them all over your house.
Memorize verses about love.


Warnings


If you want someone else to be more loving to you, don't demand that they are. First, lead by example. "Do to others as you would have them do to you" Jesus said.