Purple Prose + TIME

"What is Love?" Bible Study: Week 2

Week 2: Charlie Brown’s Teacher
Well!!?! How was it? How did your first week’s homework go? Was the SOAP method useful to you? Did you learn anything exciting from the verses you were supposed to study?
I pray you did because those verses are key in studying this week’s verse: The first ‘official’ one in this study. 1 Corinthians 13:1.
Because I grew up in a church were we read it from the King James’ Version, I’m going to put that one on here as well… BUT *I* personally understand the New Living Translation version better so that’s the one I use when I read. So I’m also going to add that as well. 1 Corinthians 13:1 (KJV)
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity. I am become as sounding brass or a tickling cymbal.

1 Corinthians 13:1 (NLT)
If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

Notebook Question : (The easiest one you will have to answer this entire Bible Study) What is charity? ____________________

When I was little, we used to do responsive readings to this book at church as part of our worship service. I could tell you the verses forwards and backwards, but I couldn’t really tell you what they meant. Through my young eyes, I thought ‘charity’ meant the Goodwill or giving money to “Just Say No” (Nancy Reagan was big on that, you know.).
As I got older, of course, I realized that charity and love meant the same thing. Most people don’t give to get a reward….. Most give with love in their heart (I say ‘most’ because ‘some’ people give with “tax deduction” in their heart.)

In the course of our study, I’ll use the word ‘Love’ mostly, but ‘charity’ might slip in there sometimes.

Let’s get on into this further…

Notebook Question: Please write this week’s verse in your own words in the notebook.
So, in my version of the verse (now be warned, Paul speaks Southern English in my head… and, side note, King David sounds like Will Scarlet from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves when I read it… weird!... Anyway) Paul says basically, “If I was smart and could understand every language on earth and heaven, but didn’t love other people, what good would it be? Only annoying noise with no purpose… Like Charlie Brown’s teacher.”

You all know the teacher from the Charlie Brown cartoon, right? She was the faceless voice that went “Wha Wha Wha WhaWha Wha.” That’s what we sound like when we have all this knowledge, but no love to go with it. Our words have no meaning.

Have you ever sat next to a clanging cymbal? I have to say, it can get on your nerves. The constant high pitched ringing, nerve grating rhythm (I can’t stand constant rhythm like finger or toe tapping… yesh) wouldn’t be a pleasant noise. NOR would you be able to get anything out if. Worthless.
That’s what knowledge without love is.
Worthless.
I mean, just imagine. You have knowledge of ‘something’… doesn’t matter what. You prepare. You know your subject. You are ready, but you don’t want to be there. You’d rather be anywhere else. You don’t love these people and don’t care about what you are telling them.

You go in front of everyone….. You have your big important things to say written down… but your mind is anywhere else. You open your mouth to speak and

*Insert Cymbals Crashing… Loudly….. continually*

All your beautiful words, all your eloquent soliloquies, reduced to the sound of non-understandable gibberish, Aka Charlie Brown’s Teacher.

Tell me what anyone would get out of that? Right, nothing!

Have you ever heard a speaker (or teacher.. or preacher… anyone) who you knew didn’t have love in his/her heart? Of course, actual words came out of his/her mouth, but the effect was the same as the example above. The message didn’t reach you. All you heard was “Wha Wha wha wha.” All of the pretty words might have been there, but you didn’t receive them because all YOU heard was loud, crashing, non-important cymbals crashing.

Did a lot of good, didn’t it?

Why do we need to learn what love is? Why do we need to learn who and how to love? Because we don’t want our words to be meaningless. We don’t want our messages to people to be perceived as unimportant and annoying as clanging cymbals. We want to love others so that our words shine with that love, that respect, and that desire to help others.

Notebook Question: **Do you think that people can tell if you are doing something out of responsibility or out of love? How? What ways can we show love by our actions?
Verses for the Week:
Here are the verses to complete the SOAP method on (refer to the Bible study Introduction if you are unsure what SOAP is) for the week to get us ready for next week! J
Tuesday: 1 Corinthians 12:9
Wednesday: Galatians 3:5
Thursday: Matthew 17:20
Friday: Philippians 2:2
Saturday: 1 Corinthians 13:2
Sunday: Review verses for tomorrow
Much Love, Kelly

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"What is Love?" Bible Study: Week 2 + TIME