Verse of the Day for February 25

Paul writes a run of short instructions here with almost no connecting argument, which makes each one land on its own.

Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another.

The second phrase is the striking one. Preferring is a word about going first — leading the way in showing honour, getting there before the other person does.

It is worth noticing where Paul places this. The verse before is about love without dissimulation, and the one after is about not being slothful in business. He treats honouring people as ordinary work, sitting between sincerity and diligence rather than among the spiritual gifts.

So it describes a race in which the aim is to be first to esteem somebody else. That is a competitive instinct pointed in an unusual direction.

Most groups run the opposite race. Recognition is scarce, so people wait to be acknowledged before acknowledging, and everyone ends up waiting.

Paul's instruction breaks the deadlock by telling you to lose that race on purpose, repeatedly, first.

Waiting to be appreciated before appreciating is the most common and least discussed cause of coldness between people who like each other.

Go first. It costs nothing except the satisfaction of being right about who owed whom.