Life Is About Relationships, Not Accomplishments
By Rick Warren
“No matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.” 1 Corinthians 13:3 (MSG)
We learned yesterday that the Bible is very clear about what really matters in life: “If you are a follower of Christ Jesus . . . all that matters is your faith that makes you love others” (Galatians 5:6 CEV).
If you don’t live a life of love, then nothing you say will matter, nothing you know will matter, and nothing you believe will matter.
And, if you don’t live a life of love, then nothing you give will matter.
“If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3 NLT).
Love isn’t always the motivation for giving. Some people give just to get back, or out of guilt, or for control or prestige. You can give for a lot of reasons, but the Bible says if you’re not doing it out of love, then none of your giving counts.
Finally, if you don’t live a life of love, then nothing you accomplish will matter.
You can rack up an incredible list of personal achievements. You can get your picture on the cover of Fortune magazine. You can win the Nobel Peace Prize. You can have enormous accomplishments, be entrepreneur of the year, build a billion-dollar company, have incredibly great successes in your field of endeavor. But the Bible says it isn’t worth much if you don’t love.
The Bible says—God says—that life is about relationships, not accomplishments.
It’s as simple as this: You can have the eloquence of an orator, the knowledge of a genius, the faith of a miracle worker, the generosity of a philanthropist, or the achievements of a superstar, but if you don’t have love in your heart, then it is worth zero. It doesn’t count. The only thing that matters to God is this: Do you love him, and do you love other people?
One day you’re going to die and stand before God. When he evaluates your life, he’s not going to look at your bank account, your list of accomplishments, or your grades. He won’t care about all your sports trophies. He’s not going to look at your endorsements or your resume.
God is going to evaluate your life on one basis: your relationships. He’s going to ask, “How much did you love me and love other people?” It’s the Great Commandment: Did you love God with all your heart, and did you love your neighbor as yourself?
What will matter most then—and what matters most now—is how you express your faith through love.
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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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