What is Love?

If there is anything I have learned during the past year and a half, it’s that our idea of what love is, has completely gotten skewed. I don’t think I realized how much it has been turned around and manipulated, and doesn’t even resemble true love for others anymore. It’s almost, as if it has been turned into an emotional blackmail method both in personal relationships and nationwide. Dictionary.com describes love(noun) as a profoundly tender affection for someone, a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, and sexual desire or passion. Our definition describes it as a feeling, nothing more. Love these days comes with strings attached, and has become cold, as it was foretold to:

“ At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold”

Matthew 24:10-12

Last year, in the USA and in many other countries world wide, love was used by many to justify horrible and incredibly controlling behavior. This behavior became a “big picture” of what we were seeing in our own local personal lives, and we didn’t even realize that we’ve been slowly deceived for years. Before last year, co-dependent relationships with our significant others or friends could sometimes be realized, and gotten out of or resolved by both people making changes and respecting boundaries. 

Then all of a sudden we realized it was affecting our relationships with our jobs, medical systems, states, and countries. We saw people reacting out of fear and anger to things that were out of their control. The narrative being pushed by the media and governments and health officials, told us that in order to be considered “loving” we had to shame those that weren’t wearing masks (then) or bully those that don’t want to take a chance on getting a vaccine (now), simply because it made others feel better about their own safety. Society told us that we had to riot when someone got killed by a police officer, and both media and society told us that skin color determined the amount of privilege each of us were afforded. We saw people that were righteous in their own eyes tear down monuments, destroy property, and hurt others. Fear shut down our states, schools, workplaces, and churches. It took a tremendous toll on our economies. It destroyed our children’s sense of security and emotional health. 

None of this was driven by love, it was driven by fear and hate. It made us aware that we have become an incredibly co-dependent society that put it’s faith and trust in what our news stations, doctors, and government officials told us to do instead of what God has told us to do, and therein lies the problem. We have put others before God. The way we reacted was not love. Let’s compare it to how the Bible defines love:

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

In one year, I have come to realize, that we did the very opposite of these verses, and in all honesty it’s been in our daily lives for decades. How many emotionally or physically abusive relationships do we have in our lives? How much are we blaming or criticizing others behavior when we need to turn the mirror around and look at our own? How often does shaming, berating, or criticizing what someone else is doing or believes actually make them do what you think they should be doing? Control and power are nothing but an illusion, and worse they are the complete antithesis of what is described in 1 Corinthians. God gives each and every one of us free will. He refuses to control us, though He could if He wanted to, so why do we think for one second that we can do it to others? He gives us minds to make our our own decisions, based on our own morals and either reap the rewards or incur punishments. He sent the Holy Spirit to guide us with every single one of the attributes in the verses above, and we are supposed to do the same with others. What makes us think we have more knowledge or wisdom than the next person? 

“If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.”

1 Corinthians 13:2

We have become an incredibly self righteous and prideful nation. We have all the knowledge in the world, but it means absolutely nothing without love. Our governments have served their own self interests, and used the people that voted them in to pay for it. Our medical facilities have forgotten how to research, or are intentionally skewing information for their own self interests, our schools are teaching things that make no sense whatsoever (common core, critical race theory, etc) it’s no wonder our children have no idea what love is. All they’ve seen is that they can get ahead through manipulation. There is a way to fix everything though, and we can turn anything around through Christ:

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

2 Chronicles 7:14

It starts with humbling ourselves. Understanding that we are in a mess and that we don’t have the answer. Accepting that we don’t have half the knowledge that we think we do, and that God is the one that does. Admitting that to God, praying to Him again. Getting back into what the Bible says to do, and researching it. Seeking His will, not ours. Taking the smallest steps to turn from what we have been doing before. Consulting with Him on decisions. Living in faith, not by what we see going on in front of us. Learning truth again instead of what we have been led to believe by this world. 

I started doing this last year, and the amount of knowledge and true wisdom He’s been imparting is growing more and more each day. There’s a sudden clarity of others intentions, I can tell the truth from a lie again. I can see clearly what might be harming me and others in this world. Deceptions are being revealed, as well as the steps I need to take to combat those deceptions. I’ve also been able to see true love again and show it to others. An agape love that has no strings attached, and has no other requirements of me other than to return it. Please join me in true repentance and salvation!