Romans 12:10 (NKJV)

“Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;”

Love is a powerful message and it speaks in actions more than words. I have failed so many times in demonstrating the practical love action that validate my deep feelings of love. It’s not enough to feel affection towards someone; that affection must be very practical and real and touchable. And one way people feel our affection is when we honor them by giving them preference. When I have an opportunity to benefit from a privilege or to enjoy something, and I willingly give that opportunity to someone else, that is love spoken loud and clear. Love involves personal sacrifice. Love involves denying yourself so that another gets joy and blessings. True love must cost us something.

And in preferring others, we need to do so with joy. As NLT put it, “take delight in honoring each other.” We should be delighted when we permit others to enjoy what could have been ours. Love rejoices in giving honor to others. Unfortunately, many of us are not like this. Most of us have a default attitude that seek our personal honor, our personal good and our personal progress, over that of others. We want to always win. We want to always be right. We don’t want to give or share honor. We want to be recognized and preferred all the time, and we defend our turf tenaciously. This is not love, and I am very guilty of this.

“I confess that I have not been loving correctly because I have been too self-centered and hungry for personal affirmation. I am sorry Lord. Grow me in preferring others. In Jesus name. Amen.”