Love's Danger

2 Corinthians 12:15

And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.

Paul made a statement that showed love’s danger. He said that he would very gladly be spent for those people because he loved them. However, he also said that the more he loved them, the less he was loved. It was not that these people loved him less, but that the more he loved them, the gap became greater between their love. If Paul was unspiritual, that gap of love could easily turn into bitterness, but the fact that he understood this is the nature of love is what kept him loving them. There are several principles of love that can be seen in this statement that shows the danger of love.

First, love is never about self. Notice that Paul did not love to get, but he loved to give. One of the great mistakes people make about love is they believe love is all about what they get in return. We often hear that love is a 50/50 investment; this is not true. I have heard people say that love is a 100/100 investment of both sides; again, this is not true. Love is giving one hundred percent and expecting nothing in return. If you try to love someone for what you can get out of it, you have never truly loved at all. You love people so you can meet their needs, and never expect anything from them.

Second, love is an investment of you. Paul spent himself for these people, and that is what true love is. Christ spent Himself for the world, which is the love of God in John 3:16. If you are not willing to invest yourself in others, you are not willing to love. The most shallow and empty life is the life that never takes the risk of investing in others. You will never know the joy of love until you are willing to take the risk to invest your life in others with no expectations of dividends in return.

Third, true love will love despite being hurt. Love does not stop loving because the one you loved hurt you; rather, love invests more love when it is hurt. You will notice that Paul loved these people more abundantly. Though he was hurt because they did not reciprocate his love, his answer was to love more abundantly. When you truly love someone, you will invest more love into them even when they tend to hurt you. Love knows no reaction but to love more. Love does not know what revenge is, but it does know how to do one thing: it knows how to love. Your reaction to hurt will always be to love people more when you truly love people.

Fourth, the danger of love is that the more you love, the less it will seem that others love you. The more you put into people, the less others’ investment of love will seem. Do they love? Yes, they do, but their love will seem so small to your love as you invest love more abundantly.

My friend, the danger of love is that you can become bitter when others do not love you as you love them. Many pastors have become bitter over their great investment of love with no seeming return from those they are loving. This could be said about the Sunday school teacher, bus worker, ministry worker, or parent. The way to keep from becoming bitter is to understand that these people are not loving you less; it is that you are loving them more. Their level of love has not grown, but they still have love for you. Therefore, if you revel in the fact that they love you, it will not matter that they don't love you the way you love them. Don't focus on the gap of love, but focus on the one you love and you will see that they do love you. This is how you keep love from turning into bitterness.