What is the L in Valentine's Day?

Valentine's Day is a great day to celebrate! But what are we really celebrating? I think for many it's about the attraction and physical side. Now that's good but if that is all there is it can focus too much on the small "l" or lust (that's more about you). I think it is or should be about the big "L" or LOVE (that's more about the other person). And what is LOVE really?

The best definition I have seen is in the Bible in 1 Corinthians 13. Here are the key descriptors. I like the Philips Version.

Think today about how you stack up. And think about some tangible way to live these qualities out today. Heck try living these principles for the next month. And tell us you story.

BTW, I just read this passage to my wife Mary who lives these out and asked her how I doing (yikes)! She said I wasn't failing:) Whew!

 love - the highest and best gift

13:1-3 - If I speak with the eloquence of men and of angels, but have no love, I become no more than blaring brass or crashing cymbal. If I have the gift of foretelling the future and hold in my mind not only all human knowledge but the very secrets of God, and if I also have that absolute faith which can move mountains, but have no love, I amount to nothing at all. If I dispose of all that I possess, yes, even if I give my own body to be burned, but have no love, I achieve precisely nothing.

13:4 - This love of which I speak is slow to lose patience - it looks for a way of being constructive. It is not possessive: it is neither anxious to impress nor does it cherish inflated ideas of its own importance.

13:5-6 - Love has good manners and does not pursue selfish advantage. It is not touchy. It does not keep account of evil or gloat over the wickedness of other people. On the contrary, it is glad with all good men when truth prevails.

13:7-8a - Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. It is, in fact, the one thing that still stands when all else has fallen.awe

My Favorite Model of Leadership

As the culture becomes more and more dysfunctional we need people at all levels to take the lead! 

I routinely read leadership books, blogs, trends and articles on leadership in the corporate, political and non-profit arenas. There are many interesting models of good leadership but I believe the best anywhere can be found in the the lives of three men who had an enormous impact in the 1st Century.

In a few short months Paul, Timothy, and Silas, three men of distinctly different personalities equipped leaders who built one of the healthiest and sucessfulchurches in the New Testament.

These leaders modeled 10 core principles recorded in 1 Thessalonians 2:7-12.  Two of these are implicit and eight are explicit. 

1. Team Oriented. They worked together. And, they all manifested and lived out the same principles regardless of personality. So you can say, "it's just not my personality."
2. Disciplined Life. They consistently and persistently lived out these principles. They were patterned, disciplined and built these as core competencies.
3. Gentle Spirit. They cared for their people "like a nursing mother tenderly cares for here child." Think of that metaphor and the tenderness it elicits.
4. Fond Affection. They authentically cared for these people. They "loved them so much" that they lived out this life of sacrifice and commitment.
5. Effective Communications. The connected with people. They knew had to listen and how to deliver truth.
6. Personal Openness. They were transparent and knew how to "impart their own lives." The word is "soul". They opened up their lives (good and bad) to those they served.
7. Servant Leadership. They understood the power of serving others and leading in a way that met others.
8. Hard Work. They "worked night and day" so they wouldn't burden people. They were tireless.
9. Strong Model. They were good models before others and God. They didn't fake it but walked their talk.
10. Caring Confrontation.  They confronted and encouraged like "a father" because they wanted these people to grow and become all God had in mind for them.

So how about you? How do you align with these principles? And, do you have a better model you like?