The Do's and Don'ts of Love (February 15, 2026)

With this being Valentine Weekend, I figured we needed to pause GROW … although, this is just as much a part of us GROWing as a Christian as anything!

If I were to ask you about where the LOVE chapter is at in the Bible, most are probably going to know where it is at. If I were to read portions of the chapter of love, most would recognize parts of the chapter, even if you didn’t know where in the Bible it is at, you have heard those verses.

So, let’s start by looking at the DON’Ts of LOVE.

•     Love is not jealous.

•     There are two types of jealousy.

•     The first type is if somebody has something better than us, we want it.

•     If they get noticed for something, we want more recognition.

•     The second type is where we wish people didn’t have what they have.

•     This is more than selfishness; this is hoping for evil to happen to someone else.

•     Love rejoices when others are blessed and rejoice with them.

•     We’re all family here.

•     When others are blessed, that’s our brothers and sisters that God has blessed.

•     Love does not brag and is not arrogant.

•     Love does not attempt to draw attention.

•     Jealousy wants what somebody else has.

•     Bragging is trying to make people want what we have.

•     We have nothing that we didn’t receive from the Lord.

•     Knowledge, money, possessions are all from the hand of the Lord.

•     We have nothing to be puffed up about.

•     Love recognizes that everything is from the Lord and they had nothing to do with it.

•     Love humbly acknowledges God is the Great One.

•     Love is not rude.

•     Being rude means that there is no care or concern for others.

•     Rudeness is the need to hurt others so that self is lifted.

•     Love always sees others more important than themselves.

•     Love takes the pain to spare others.

•     Love is not self-seeking.

•     Self-seeking says ‘me first, me first’.

•     A tombstone reads, “Here lies a miser who lived for himself, and cared for nothing but gathering wealth. Now where he is or how he fares, nobody knows and nobody cares.”

•     Love says what can I do for others.

•     Love is secure in its position in life and lives to promote others.

•     Love is not provoked.

•     Provoked means, “aroused to sudden anger or outburst of emotion.”

•     Love does not get angry when somebody says something or does something that displeases us or keeps us from doing something our way.

•     We should only be angry about things that make God angry.

•     Love sheds provocation like water on a duck’s back.

•     Love doesn’t rejoice in iniquity.

•     When we hear bad things about people, what is our first reaction?

•     Do we think they deserve it or had it coming?

•     Do we wish that bad things would happen?

•     Would gossip fall in here?

•     Love has no part in evil or sin.

•     Love says, “If not for God’s grace, I could be in the same place.”

So, what about those DO’s of LOVE?

•     Love rejoices in truth.

•     Love rejoices in God’s Word.

•     When people are not walking in the way of the Lord, we don’t say, “well, we love them anyway.”

•     Love is active.

•     If we really believe the truth and the consequences of denying the truth, if we really love, we will want people to know the truth.

•     Love doesn’t compromise the truth but proves the truth through love.

•     Love is patient.

•     The word for patient literally means “long tempered.”

•     Love is patient with people.

•     “Love’s patience is the ability to be inconvenienced or taken advantage of by a person over and over again and yet not be upset or angry.” (MacArthur)

•     Love does not mind getting taken advantage of or seeking revenge.

•     This goes against everything we learn.

•     Love is kind.

•     Like patience takes anything from anybody, kindness gives anybody anything.

•     Love is hopeful and trustful.

•     Love always looks the best in people.

•     Anybody can focus on the bad of people.

•     Love sees the good in people and the good that they can be.

•     Love is not suspicious.

•     Love is ever hopeful and ever trustful.

•     When people fail, love never gives up.

•     Love refuses to give up on anyone.

•     The sum of loving others as Jesus loves us is acting in ways that are for the good of others.

•     Jesus acted in love in a way that was far better for us than Him.

•     His act of love cost Him His life.

•     His act of love gave us ours.