So with yourselves; since you are eager for spiritual gifts, strive to excel in them for building up the church. (1 Cor 14:12)

First Corinthians 12-14 is a passage about how Christians who speak in tongues and Christians who don’t speak in tongues can still worship together as members of the same church. No wonder there are so many controversies about its interpretation!

Love is central to Paul’s instructions to this divided church. It is the “more excellent way” (12:31) that makes it possible for believers to accept each other, making allowances for their differences. From the perspective of love, obsessing over who has what gifts is a pointless exercise. What matters is that everyone exercises their gift in such a way that love shines through.