Love is Consistency

If you have everything but lack love, you have nothing. - 1 Corinthians 13

Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes. Love is not about holding onto the negative things that have happened to us or what someone else may have done.

No matter what, love is always trusting, always hoping, always persevering. There is no greater way than to never stop trusting, never stop hoping, and never stop persevering. Never give up on yourself or on God's promise for your life.

Making mistakes is painful, but you must never let them define you. Stay true to the ideal version of yourself - the version beyond labels, skin color, nationality, race, gender, or any other external identity.

You must hold onto the version of yourself created in the image and likeness of God - the one who was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. The One who placed you here and lives within you.

Even in your human imperfections, believe and trust in the highest version of yourself. Never give up on that.

Love keeps no record of wrongs; it always throws the records away. It allows you to move forward and focus on truly living (experiencing and enjoying every aspect of this existence called life), without being tied to bad experiences or disappointments.

Love is therefore patient and kind because it always trusts. It knows and believes that the ideal is true and will come to pass, regardless of what appears to be happening in the present or what has happened in the past.

You cannot be impatient or unkind when you know that all is well and that you already have more than enough. You lack nothing.

Your refusal to give up on hope, trust, and perseverance is what love is. You know everything works out in the end and that you always triumph. That is why love never fails - because it never gives up. Never giving up guarantees that you will succeed in trying.

Love is consistency. Even in the face of mistakes, even when things seem impossible, it remains anchored in trust. It is being at peace with the process of manifesting the ideal into reality. That is love.

When you truly know that you have all you need, there is no need to boast or envy others. It is that internal conviction, before you even see it externally, that builds the infrastructure of love within.

Love is a place of rest. You don’t rush for something that is already yours. People rush or become impatient when they believe they lack something or feel they must protect what they have. In love, those anxieties disappear because you trust that what is meant for you is already yours, putting you at ease.

People compare themselves to others and dishonor others as a way of getting ahead because they lack love.

If you have love, you will always trust and hope for the best. In that trust, there is no need for comparison because you already have all you need. There is no need to dishonor others because you are not concerned with keeping up appearances. It becomes meaningless.

Fear, therefore, is the opposite of love. Fear makes us impatient. It drives us to dishonor others in an attempt to feel better about our status. Fear convinces us that we lack something, leading us to make bad decisions or even wrong others just to obtain what we believe we don’t have.

Living in fear creates more fear. No amount of effort can fully protect you from feeling inadequate, from believing you still need more, or from the endless pursuit of status and validation.

Your entire life can be spent chasing the illusion of security, attempting to mitigate never-ending fears. But that is why love is the most excellent way - because in love, all those futile needs and stresses fade away. Love allows you to build better relationships based on servant leadership rather than self-interest. It shifts your focus from just yourself to others, convinced that you lack nothing.

Are you living in love or fear? The answer lies in how you see and treat others.

Are you constantly comparing yourself? That’s fear.

Are you always thinking only about your own needs and selfish interests when making decisions? That’s fear.

Are you impatient, stressed, always in a hurry? That’s fear.

Or are you at peace, even as you work toward the things that matter to you?

Do you consider the needs of others when making decisions?

Have you stopped comparing yourself to others, understanding that no one is better or worse than another when measured by the ideal versions of who we all are?

That’s how you know.

I hope this article is useful to you.

Have a great week and keep winning!

- Ike