It is said that “love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart, and the senses.” Having stated this, allow me to point out that forming a negative opinion based on appearance takes less than 20 seconds. Author Thelma Wells says, “It’s easy to form a negative opinion when someone doesn’t look, sound, shake hands, or think like you.”
However, from a biblical perspective, “anyone who does not love his brother or sister cannot love God.” You cannot love God if you harbor bad feeling towards others. We are more than flesh; we are spiritual beings. Our character, values, intellect, and passions are the foundation of who we are, not our height, weight, mannerisms, hair color and age. The following beliefs are the lessons that real love teaches us:
- Love means letting go of expectations. We all want to be loved but expectations are just your requirements for acceptability of loving someone. However true love has no expectations. It simply loves “as is.”
- Love doesn’t play the victim role or blame others. Love doesn’t always think that others are out to get them. Love works together with loved ones. It forgives and allows other people’s actions to be their journey.
- Love includes letting go. Remember the saying “if you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it’s yours. If it doesn’t, then it never was.” You see love allows people their freedom. It doesn’t hold tightly and crush their spirit in attempt to keep them.
- Love doesn’t require you to continue a relationship. You may love someone very much but you may not be compatible with them. Or they may drive you crazy with their continued disregard for your feelings. You can still love them, but that doesn’t mean you have to be with them.
- Love has no room for jealousy. True love has confidence in the quality of the relationship. It knows that the other person is happy and content coming back to you and only you.
Finally, when we realize God loves us even though he doesn’t like some of our attitudes and actions, it becomes easier to love others. When we realize our negative feelings towards others gets in the way of our love for God, it becomes easier to love.
So Never Give Up! Never Give Up! Never Give Up!
By Chaplain Ghosten
chaplain@lhp.net
