Paul placed the importance of love in every area of life, 1 Corinthians 13, in the midst of a discussion about exercising spiritual gifts.
He points out in 1 Corinthians 12 that the Holy Spirit is the one who administers spiritual gifts, distributing to each one the gift He chooses. It’s His prerogative, not ours, as stated in verse 11: “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.”
Let me suggest an illustration that captures this idea. Consider the church to be an orchestra. The Holy Spirit assigns the instrument each member is going to play, and gives the ability to play it. Each player is a part of the whole and is important to the sound produced by the orchestra. The Holy Spirit, as the conductor, directs the orchestra to play the music He chooses. Each member of the orchestra contributes to the sound of the whole. Any player not following the conductor will produce a discordant sound and spoil the music. Imagine the discordant sound if many or most of the players do their own thing rather than follow the conductor’s lead.
It’s the same in the church. The Holy Spirit gives each believer a gift or gifts, as He determines. Then He directs the church and each member to express God’s love as defined by the Gospel. The harmony produced when each member follows the lead of the Holy Spirit is attractive and will draw unbelievers to the Lord and bring glory to the Lord.
Those are the two objectives we should have in mind as we exercise our Spiritual gift: the enrichment of others and the glory of God.
