Love Includes / Love Excludes LOVE INCLUDES/LOVE EXCLUDES The love of which I speak is slow to lose patience. It always looks for a way to be constructive. Love is not possessive. Neither is it anxious to impress, nor does it cherish inflated ideas of its own importance. Love has good manners and does not keep an account of evil,or gloat over the wickedness of other people. On the other hand, love is gladwith all good people whenever truth prevails. Love does not give up on others. Love knows no end to its trust, no fading in its hope. Love outlasts everything. Love is in fact the one thing that will be standing when all else has fallen. WHAT LOVE DOES Love accepts you wherever you are Affirms your goodness and giftedness Cares about and wants to know if you are OK Challenges you to grow to your potential Empathizes—what it's like to be you Encourages you to believe in yourself Is Gentle in its way of dealing with you Keeps confidences—your secrets are safe Is Kind—is always for you on your side Laughs a lot, always with never at you Looks for goodness in you and fiends it Makes you feel glad that you are you Overlooks your foolishness and human weaknesses Prays for your needs and your growth Sees good in you that others haven't noticed Shares itself with you, by self-disclosure Speaks up when you need someone to defend you Is tactful even when confronting you Takes responsibility for its own behavior WHAT LOVE DOESN'T Love doesn't abuse or take you for granted Try to change or re-arrange you Blame you or carry angry grudges Manipulate you by anger, loud voice or tears Get you into win-lose situations Give you unsolicited advice Judge or tell you what is wrong with you Just tolerate you as a condescending favor Make you prove yourself again and again Need be right, to have all the answers Pout or refuse to talk to you Punish you vindictively for being wrong Remember the things you have done wrong Seek and call attention to itself Show off—to let you know where you stand Undermine your confidence in yourself Use you for his or her own gain then discard you Ventilate its emotions on you as a garbage dump Write you off because you didn't meet its demands author unknown