God Labels Love #939

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4–8a, NKJV)

We oppose bias and prejudice, just as God does (Acts 10:34-35; Jas. 2:1-13). But, a recent Ad Council campaign against bias entitled “Love Has No Labels” promotes inclusion and diversity without reservation or Scriptural consideration of sin. Some of the campaign’s applications are morally benign (such as race, age and disability). Others are not. Their video includes LGBT conduct and world religions along with sinless items as requiring love without labels. In truth, this campaign should have been named, “Love Has No Boundaries,” for it does not respect the restrictions love demands. In today’s classic passage on love, please see how often Christ’s apostle uses “not” and “no” to explain love. God’s word labels the traits of love, all of which demand distinction and separation from that which is “not” love. Dear reader, not everything people call love is love according to God’s definition. For instance, love does not “rejoice in iniquity” but “in the truth” (v. 6). Yet, the “Love Has No Labels” campaign violates this as it praises immorality and religious error. Be discerning before labeling everything love, or you may falsely identify sin as love, while failing to see (or even condemning) the genuine article.