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English 102
The word “love” is commonly misused in our society. It is more than an emotion; it is a manner in which we should conduct ourselves. Love is the rule by which our conscience is guided. Frankly, love is a blueprint for living. It should dictate every action that has stimulated a response from you. Love is treating everyone, including your enemies, as you would want to be treated. Put yourself in their shoes every once in a while. Maybe the reason they snapped at your is because someone else did the same to them. Give that person a kind word, even though the treated you badly, and your could turn their bad attitude into a good one. The Bible is where the true meaning of love can be found. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 reads:
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not, charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Given this meaning, can any of us love in this way? Look around in the world and you will see that love like this, if it exists, is hard to find. Mostly what we see are impatient, jealous, arrogant, provoked, unbearable, unbelieving, unhopeful, people who act unbecomingly of what we should strive for as mankind: love.
Most people, when asked to define love, have no definite answer to relay to you. Their eyes roll back in their head, their hand reaches up to grasp their chin, and after a few seconds their hand combs through their hair. It is then when you realize that they have absolutely no clue. However, some have given the following explanations: love is when you love someone; love is sex; love is giving all you got and asking nothing in return, love is a tingly feeling, love is what you feel for your parents or children. This can’t be all there is!
Rarely do any of us stop from our daily lives to think of what we have done to our world. Because of the devaluation of the meaning of love, our society is selfish. We live in a world that rejoices iniquity instead of the truth. Just look at the media coverage everyday. We hardly hear about the wonderful and kind things of our world. Most news coverage is of terrible acts of violence, sex scandals, lies, and cheating, anything for a rating. Our world is filled with people trying to out do each other and are more pleased to see someone in the mist of turmoil than having a good life.
Self-love, many would describe as something we need less of in the world. People say that we need to love others more, instead. Although it is true we need to love others more, we cannot possibly achieve this without loving ourselves first. Most of what displeases us in others is a reflection of ourselves. Until we come to love the parts about us that we deem unworthy to love, we cannot even begin to understand the concept of love presented in Corinthians.
Love is not supposed to be easily provoked; instead it should be serene and stable. Love is patient and merciful, but between traffic jams and long shopping lines it’s hard to keep love in our hearts. The Christmas season should be a time when we should be a living example of love. Honestly, I see more arguments, and hear more cursing from people who supposedly have love in their hearts than any other time of the year. Take walking in the door after a hectic day at work, for example. How many of us greet the family with kind words? Instead, their kind words of, “How was your day?” has provoked us into anger. It would be so much better to leave the stresses of the day behind and show our family how much they are loved, before it is too late.
Love is generous. Generous doesn’t mean giving money to everyone whom looks in need. I saw a mom in the mall struggling to hold her screaming child while writing out a check. The mother was visibly upset, yet no one offered to hold the baby, hold the check still as she wrote, or offer some sort of kind sentiment to reassure her as a mother. Instead, she got accusing looks of failure. Where does our love lie -- only with personal relationships? Are strangers, God’s children, unworthy of love?
Love thinks no evil, but has faith in God and others. How many times, if ever have you had faith in others? My husband and I were at a school function when an older gentleman walked in and sat down near us. He wasn’t in the best of clothes, but, because of the way he looked, I immediately pulled my purse a little closer to my chair. How quickly we think evil of others because of their appearances! Everyday, we encounter people who treat us rudely or act like we are a burden to them. If you look at that person in a different way, it becomes easier to love them. You think of reasons that could have made them this way. You put yourself in their shoes. Things such as physical abuse, sickness, deaths of children or parents; the same things that happen in our life has impacted their life and contributed to their behavior as well. Yes, other people are just like us. Sometimes we fail to see that they encounter life trials as we do. It’s just that we deem ours more significant, because we have no personal knowledge of a stranger. Love calls us to be generous with our understanding.
Love is humble; it does not vaunt itself. We fail at this every moment of our lives. We do it in the car that we drive, the clothes we wear, the positions that we hold, and the way that we speak. Seldom do any of us let ourselves go unnoticed, because we need our fix, as Dr. Figueroa would say. If by chance we don’t have the latest fad or desire something that we know in our hearts we can afford at the moment, we charge it. Love is not envious. Most of the debt in our lives is because of envy.
Love is disciplined and controlled, it does not behave unbecomingly. Our President’s behavior recently has provided a fine example of acting unbecomingly, to say the least! What a fine example he has set for our future prospects for President – our children. If we would all bring back the true meaning of love into our lives, none us would ever have to worry about acting unbecomingly. Love would set us straight in any situation!
Love, as it is presented in Corinthians, is hard to comprehend. We walk among people blinded. Why is it that many of us finally know what love really is when it’s too late to change? It is then that we realize we could have loved more completely than we have in our lives. You will never hear someone say that they wished they spent more time at work. However, you will hear many people say that they wished they would have loved more. It is then, on our deathbed, that we realize that love is our reason and guide for living. It is what binds our world together, and sadly because of our distorted meaning of love, is the very thing that is destroying our world now. Redefining the meaning of love can change your whole life and the people around you. Love is your blueprint for living and with it you can’t go wrong!
If you have comments or suggestions, email me at nandoman1@zdnetonebox.com
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