When Paul talks on helping others but without love he says we are just “the creaking of a rusty gate” (The Message, see 1 Corinthians 13 for the complete message) I thought I understood exactly what that meant. If you are feeding the poor how can you do that without love? If you are clothing the naked how can you do that without love? Recently I’ve been getting a lesson in this and seeing that yes I can do those things without love. We’ve done a lot of paying of school fees and shopping for school recently. It’s not that I don’t want to help it’s the process in which I have to go through to help. That’s where the “no love” comes into play.
I don’t love:
- Being stared at
- Hearing mzungu being yelled at me (one shopkeeper said this as I approached the shop next to hers and I thanked her for pointing out the fact the mzungu was there- you see, no love)
- Being taken advantage of on prices (although this one I got around and found out what others had paid for the same item – one shopkeeper doubled his price and I refused to do business with him, another wanted me to add 100/ksh just because it wasn’t a market day-again I refused and he came back down in price)
- Just the logistics of moving around in the market-people walking everywhere including the roads
- It isn’t “one-stop shopping” for sure…different items you have to go to different kiosks
If I feed the hungry or cloth the naked or help educate the orphan but my attitude is not in love, then “I’ve gotten nowhere” and “I’m nothing”. Not sure if I’m feeling resentment, anger or just plain “no love” but whatever it is my attitude needs some strenuous readjustment. But I know Who is going to do the adjustment and I also know His grace will get me through.