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We live in a community and spend time interacting with people.  This includes family members, friends, neighbours, colleagues and people whom God brings into our lives.  How do we show love in all our interactions with people around us?  Are we sincere in our actions?  The Bible exhorts us to be sincere in our love and not to be hypocritical in our actions.  Gal. 5:22 tells us that love is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.  We need to have the Holy Spirit guiding us in our walk with him daily to demonstrate the kind of love that comes from a holy God.  Gal. 5:25 exhorts those who live by the Holy Spirit to keep in step with the Holy Spirit.  It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that we become more like Him when self decreases as we walk close to our Lord Jesus Christ daily.  Phil. 2:3, 4 exhorts us to follow the example of our Lord in being humble, to consider the interest of others and not merely look out for our own interests.

The motivation of our acts of love is important.  Hypocritical love will be useless for our own purposes.  Even if we give sacrificially, when it is not motivated by love, we gain nothing (Ref: 1 Cor. 13:3).  The poor receiving our gifts may benefit from our giving and our generosity, but in the eyes of God it counts for nothing toward the one who gives or is generous without love.

God looks at the heart of man rather than the outward appearance. (Ref: 1 Sam. 16:7).  By nature, man’s heart is deceitful and works to give a bogus appearance when driven by selfish motives.  Prov. 3:3, 4 exhorts us to not let love and faithfulness leave us but to bind them around our neck and write them on the tablets of our heart.  Then we will win favour and a good name in the sight of God and man.  As Christians, we ought to align our actions in the fear of God rather than in the fear of man.  We ought to be watchful of the devil’s lies and not be taken in by the glamour of this world.  We must not pattern our lives based on wrong worldly principles.  We need to lead lives that are sincere (without hypocrisy), genuine in our actions, sacrificial and pleasing to our God always.

As a practical action this week, prayerfully consider any help you can render to someone this week with sincere love motivated by love God – love people.

“Share with God’s people who are in need.  Practice hospitality.” (Rom. 12:13)