Choose Love

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. —1 Peter 4:8

During the NFL divisional playoffs—and again in the Super Bowl—the league honored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by displaying the words “Choose Love” in the end zones and on helmet decals.

It’s not easy being a Buffalo Bills fan. Bills Mafia, as they’ve become known, suffer from perennial heartbreak, as each year their beloved Bills find new and creative ways to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. And yet, the people of Buffalo keep showing up. They keep believing. They keep loving their team. In that sense, love covers a multitude of past failures.

When the apostle Peter wrote that love covers a multitude of sins, he wasn’t thinking about sports. He was highlighting love’s redemptive and relational power.

Human love doesn’t atone for sin—only God does that. And Peter isn’t sneaking works-based forgiveness in through the side door like a theological raccoon. He is urging followers of Jesus to cultivate healthy, trust-filled relationships with one another.

Stephen Covey illustrated this idea with his metaphor of the emotional bank account. It represents the level of trust in a relationship. Acts of kindness, honesty, and faithfulness are deposits that build trust. Disrespect, broken promises, and selfishness are withdrawals that deplete it.

This image helps us understand capacity. Loving one another deeply means building enough trust and grace that when sin happens (and it will, because we’re human), it doesn’t immediately bankrupt the relationship.

“Love covers a multitude of sins” does not mean:

• pretending sin isn’t sin
• excusing harm
• keeping score so we can rehash it later

It does mean:

• refusing to let every failure or disagreement become a rupture
• choosing patience over retaliation
• absorbing small offenses so the relationship doesn’t fracture

In that sense, love covers our brokenness the way a roof covers a house—not by denying storms exist, but by keeping them from destroying what’s underneath.

“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
—1 Corinthians 13

There’s been a lot of emotional hand-wringing over the divisions in our culture. The fractures are real—but they’re not new. Dr. King understood what heals deep wounds. So did Abraham Lincoln. The answer then is the same now: choosing to love others by seeking the peace and prosperity of the people and places where we live.

That’s how trust is rebuilt.
That’s how capacity is restored.
That’s how relationships endure.

🧠 Finding Our Place in the Story

Where has a relationship in your life been strained by repeated disappointments—and what might it look like to rebuild trust instead of walking away?

Are there any “small offenses” you’re holding onto that love may be inviting you to absorb rather than escalate?

What would it look like for you to choose love in one concrete situation this week—especially where it feels costly?