DAY 3 DEVOTIONAL | How to Walk in Love Without Being Taken Advantage Of in the Church

Morning Emphasis: Building strength and consistency early in the year

One of the greatest tensions many Christians face is learning how to love well without losing wisdom. 

In real life, I love you, I want to spend time with you, I want to help you with what you’re asking of me, but right now, it’s time for me to go spend some time in the presence of the Lord. If you cannot understand that,  see you, I’m out. Period! 

Family, we have to get to that place if we are going to grow in Christ. Because some people continue to be selfish, some people continue to not understand that these sicknesses and trials we are going through are warning signs for us to pull up our socks, fly right, do better, be better, live for Jesus every moment of every day. Do we agree?

In real life, we are taught to forgive, to serve, to be patient, and to walk in grace. Yet many believers quietly struggle because they feel pressured to tolerate unhealthy behaviour in the name of love, especially within church spaces or Christendom - the collective body of Christian people, institutions, nations, and cultural influences shaped by Christianity.

Scripture never presents love and wisdom as opposites. In fact, God consistently joins them together.

The apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 4:15 (NIV): “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, Christ.

Notice that maturity is connected not just to love, but to truth spoken in love. Silence is not maturity. We have to be able to use our words.

Endurance without discernment is not spiritual growth. Love that ignores truth eventually weakens both the giver and the receiver.

Jesus Himself addressed this balance when He sent out His disciples. 

In Matthew 10:16 (NIV), He said: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”

Jesus did not tell His followers to abandon love. He told them to combine innocence with wisdom. Love does not require innocence or lack of awareness. And faith does not require foolishness.

We see this principle lived out in the life of Jesus repeatedly. 

Jesus loved crowds, healed freely, and showed compassion to the broken. Yet He also withdrew from people when their intentions were wrong. 

Scripture tells us that Jesus did not entrust Himself to everyone because He knew what was in their hearts.

John 2:24–25, NIV: “But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.”

Jesus’ love was genuine, but it was not careless.

The apostle Paul also modeled this balance. He loved the churches deeply, yet he confronted unhealthy behaviour directly. Some of us are afraid to call wrong wrong because we don’t want our friends to leave us. God forbid.

You want to be like Paul? Paul not only corrected false teaching, but he also addressed division and set boundaries when necessary. Paul’s love was not passive; it was purposeful.

Titus 1:10–11 (NIV) “For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group. They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain.”

Paul’s example shows us that biblical love is not silent or passive, and when that kind of discerning love is absent, believers often carry burdens God never asked them to bear.

In real life today, walking in love without wisdom can lead to burnout, resentment, and confusion. Many believers stay silent when boundaries should be set. They say yes when God is calling them to pause. They endure mistreatment because they fear being labeled unloving. 

But Scripture shows us that love rooted in Christ is honest, discerning, and anchored in truth. 

1 Corinthians 13:6 (NIV) “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”

Walking in love means choosing grace without enabling harm. It means offering forgiveness without surrendering discernment. It means reflecting Christ’s heart while also honouring the wisdom He gives.

Family, true Christian strength is not found in being taken advantage of. It is found in walking so closely with Christ that love and wisdom move together, just as God intended. Hallelujah! 

Click here for the full Live Empowerment Session https://youtu.be/7ljgDHfiRxA