1 Corinthians 13:1–3: Arriving at a Better Understanding

1 Corinthians 13:1–3 reads as follows:

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal (verse 1).

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing (verse 2).

If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing(verse 3).

The typical interpretation of the words above is that if we do not have love, there is not any reward for whatever we do that is good in this earth. So then both Christians and non-Christians strive to attribute their actions to love — philanthropy is love albeit with a secular label. But is the conventional interpretation of the passage above really true? Must we have love in order for good actions to be rewarded by God? Does it matter for the reward that a great swimmer who rescues a child from drowning sees it as duty bestowed by his gift, not an act of love?

The first verse declares that an outcome of whatever does not proceed out of love is noise, meaning absent love, there does not exist any spiritual value for words not spoken in love. This is tantamount to saying preaching to people without love…