Love + Knowledge = Discernment

In I Corinthians it says that "knowledge puffs up, but love builds up" (I Cor. 8:1). True. No one likes an arrogant, know-it-all boasting about what they KNOW, even if what they know is about God. And no one likes advice offered without sensitivity or compassion. People would rather see that you KNOW how to LOVE through your actions than hear about what you know with your words.

However, Paul makes it clear in Philippians 1:9-11 that love without knowledge is also foolishness. In verse nine, Paul begins a pray for the church at Philippi (a church that was very dear to him) and he says:

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

We won't really know how to love people unless we are being continually filled up by the knowledge that comes from God's Word, so that we may discern how to BEST love those around us. Because the feeling of love can be deceiving. We can feel like we love someone, but to refuse to the convict them of sin because we care about their comfort more than their holiness is not love. To fear saying something to a friend, because they might take it negatively or it might affect the friendship is not love - unless I am trying to love myself more than I love my friend. Love is not easy. It's not always comfortable. Sometimes it means drawing a line, forming a boundary, disciplining a child or a student, convicting a friend, or confessing a sin. And sometimes it's hard to figure out HOW to best love someone. Do they need a hug? To hear a passage of scripture? A meal? An invitation to church? Help writing a resume? An exhortation?  A swift kick in the butt? To be confronted by a pastor? Love doesn't look the same in all circumstances and the only way we can truly know how to best love those around us is to continually be built up in the knowledge of God's Word - which results in discernment - and to go forth in prayer.