Love Thinks No Evil

1 Corinthians 13:5

“Love…thinks no evil…”

Of all the descriptions of love we have looked at thus far, “Love…thinks no evil” is probably one of the clearer, or perhaps more obvious, definitions of love. Love and evil cannot coexist. They are on opposite sides.

The Greek word used for evil in this verse is kakos. This same Greek word is used in several areas of the New Testament. The apostle Paul used it to describe his actions in Romans 7:19, 21. In verse 19, Paul says, “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.” The apostle Paul admitted that despite his desire to do good, he still does evil. He still does wicked. If Paul, arguably the greatest missionary to ever live, who wrote at least twelve books in the New Testament, and who suffered physically for the gospel more than most (2 Corinthians 11:23-28) because of his faithfulness, if he practiced evil, then surely we do too!

Another helpful verse from Romans is in chapter thirteen, verse ten. It says, “Love does no harm (kakos) to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” The same Greek word used for evil in 1 Corinthians 13:5 and Romans 7:19,21 is used for harm in this verse. We can again see that love and evil are in complete opposition towards one another. Taking these verses together then we can see that love is in such complete opposition to evil that a loving person does not do or think evil towards another person, and yet, we do.

One of the definitions for kakos is “a perversion of what pertains to goodness.” Simply put, anything good that we are opposed to is evil. Often times you must have one thought, good or evil, towards someone. There is no third option. Gossip is one of the best, current ways to describe this type of evil, and it is a huge problem in Christian churches today. If you gossip about someone, you are acting, not out of love, but with evil intentions. Few would say that gossip is evil, but according to the definition of evil we find in Scripture, I don’t think we can argue with it. Because when you get to the root of gossip, what you are really doing is trying to push the other person down in order to lift yourself up. You want to look and feel better. You are not doing what is good for the other person, you are doing what is good for you. That is the opposite of love; it is evil. A loving person would squash the rumors, end the gossip, and, if necessary, talk to the other person about what they heard.

We cannot know all of Jesus’ thoughts, but what we can know is that He never sinned. His thoughts were never evil. During the Triumphal Entry, commonly referred to as Palm Sunday, Jesus weeps over Jerusalem. He weeps over them because they have rejected Him; however, He does not weep for Himself, but for them. In Matthew 23:37 we see Him lamenting over Jerusalem, stating that he wanted to protect His people like a hen that gathers her chicks under her wings, but they rejected Him. He wept over them, a people who would reject Him and crucify Him that very week. His thoughts towards them were not evil but loving. His love was towards a people who rejected Him and crucified Him when all He wanted to do was protect and save them. I say, yet again, His love towards us is unfathomable!

This is love. Love does not think evil towards another person, no matter how wicked the other person is. We are called to repay evil with good (Romans 12:21). We are not to be perverse to good, which is an obvious statement, but the devil is subtle. He is the best at what he does, and that is deceive us. I challenge you to pray as David did, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me…” (Psalm 139:23-24a). The devil is good at hiding our sins from us, but God is greater and will show us how we are evil if we ask Him.

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