Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
– 1 John 3:16-17
This is one of those verses that doesn’t just teach, it reveals. It reminds us that love is not sentiment, not theory, not a warm thought. It is action, sacrifice, and open‑handed compassion. It’s striking how John ties the love of God directly to our willingness to respond to the needs around us. Not out of guilt, but out of the same love that moved Christ to lay down His life. Love and boundaries are not opposites. They are partners. 1 John 3:16–17 calls us to active compassion, but it never commands us to become a doormat, a resource, or a rescue plan for people who refuse to take responsibility for their own lives. There’s a difference between:
Carrying someone who won’t help themselves.
Helping someone who truly cannot help themselves, one is Christlike compassion. The other is enabling and scripture never asks you to enable sin, laziness, manipulation, or irresponsibility. Even Jesus set boundaries He fed the hungry, healed the sick, comforted the broken, but He also: walked away from crowds, refused to perform miracles on demand, confronted entitlement, and held people accountable for their choices. Love doesn’t mean unlimited access. Love doesn’t mean letting someone drain your home, your finances, your peace, or your spirit. Statement is biblically sound
We are called to compassion, not exploitation. We are called to generosity, not self-destruction. We are called to love, not to be used. If someone is capable of working, contributing, or standing on their own feet, and they choose not to, that is their stewardship issue, not yours.
“Love With Open Eyes”
I have loved with an open hand,
The way Scripture teaches,
Bread broken, doors unlatched,
A place at the table for anyone hungry.
I have poured out compassion
Like oil on weary feet,
Believing kindness could soften
What life had hardened in others.
But love is not blindness.
It is not silence.
It is not surrendering my home
To those who refuse to stand on their own.
Christ laid down His life,
Yes, willingly, wholly,
But He never asked me,
To lay down my peace
For someone else’s comfort.
So, I learned to guard the threshold,
To bless and release,
To say “no more” without bitterness,
To choose stewardship over guilt.
My heart is still open,
But my eyes are awake.
Compassion still flows,
But wisdom walks beside it.
And this, too, is love,
The kind that honors God,
The kind that protects the sanctuary,
He trusted me to keep.
"Only Life Changes" 