The Gong Show

Do you remember the gong show?! I’ll have to look it up on YouTube and see if I can post it. Well, it was basically performances and if they weren’t good enough you got gonged off the show! It was pretty funny. The reason I was thinking about the Gong Show was from this passage from first Corinthians 13

If I speak in the tongues[a](A) of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy(B) and can fathom all mysteries(C) and all knowledge,(D) and if I have a faith(E) that can move mountains,(F) but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor(G) and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b](H) but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient,(I) love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.(J) It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,(K) it is not easily angered,(L) it keeps no record of wrongs.(M)Love does not delight in evil(N) but rejoices with the truth.(O) It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

We can do amazing things without love, but to God it’s worthless and he would gong us off his show! Love is that critically important. In fact, it’s all that matters. I think that we enjoy doing good things because they make us feel good about ourselves, but it might be a false security if we’re not growing in love. The two commands that God gives us are to love him with all her heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love others as ourselves. He wants us to focus on these more than anything else. So how are you doing in loving others and treating others? Are you treating them the way you want them to treat you? Are you forgiving and keeping short accounts? This is a challenge, and none of us have arrived, but may the Lord give us his grace and power to excel in love. 

Our judge is very perceptive and sees through our every act. Let it be shot through with love so you can get a prize, not a gong!