Love Is Not Gaslighting

The Best of You

Dr. Alison Cook

Health & Fitness, Mental Health

4.9 • 956 Ratings

🗓️ 6 February 2026

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Welcome to The Best of You Every Day. Today’s Scripture is: 1 Corinthians 13:1–7 Go Deeper: Read more on my blog here: Gaslighting & the Bible: How to Respond When Someone is Manipulating You Learn how to set wise boundaries with free resources here. Follow Dr. Alison on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralisoncook/?hl=en ⁠Sign up⁠ for Dr. Alison’s free weekly email for ongoing reflection and support. While Dr. Cook is a counselor, the content of this podcast and any of the products provided by Dr. Cook are not specific counseling advice nor are they a substitute for individual counseling. The content and products provided on this podcast are for informational purposes only.‍ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey everyone, I'm Dr. Allison. Today's scripture offers us a wiser way of being human as we step into the day.
0:11.8	On Fridays, we're in the New Testament letters, the parts of scripture that get very practical about how love is lived in real relationships and real community.
0:22.6	Today's passage is a familiar one. It's often read at weddings, but it's far more confronting than sentimental. Because Paul
0:28.3	isn't describing a feeling. He's not describing chemistry or romantic love in particular. He's
0:33.2	describing a way of being, character, a kind of love that is sturdy enough to hold conflict,
0:38.7	truth, and repair. Today's reading is 1 Corinthians 13 1 through 7. If I speak in the tongues of men
0:46.1	or of angels but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging symbol. If I have the
0:52.5	gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge,
0:55.9	and if I have a faith that can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I
1:01.8	possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love,
1:07.4	I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not proud.
1:16.2	It does not dishonor others. It is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of
1:23.5	wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. That last line is so
1:31.4	powerful. Love rejoices with the truth, not with appearances, not with harmony at any cost,
1:38.8	not with deception. Paul places this line near the center of his description of love for a reason.
1:45.3	He is writing to a community marked by conflict, power struggles, and spiritual posturing.
1:50.6	And into that mess, he doesn't offer sentimentality, he offers clarity.
1:55.1	He's naming a kind of love that can hold reality without distortion.
1:59.7	In modern language, we might say that love does not manipulate
2:03.0	the truth. It does not twist what happened in order to protect itself or avoid responsibility.
2:09.8	A familiar word we use today for this kind of distortion is gaslighting. From a psychological lens,
2:16.1	gaslighting occurs when someone subtly reshapes reality,
	...

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