Today's Devotional

April 11, 2005

Subject:  If It Isn't Love

1Corinthians 13:7 - "Love never stops being patient, never stops believing, never stops hoping, never gives up."

1Corinthians 13:7 - "Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."

There was a song by a group called New Edition that had these lyrics: 

"If it isn't love, why do I feel this way, why does she stay on my mind?  If it isn't love why does it hurt so bad, make me feel so sad inside?" 

Well to answer that question let me first suggest that perhaps it's lust or maybe it's infatuation and lets not forget codependency or a million other psychological addictions that people are prone to have.  Yes, love is one of those terms that is so misused and abused in the world today that we've either forgotten or never really knew the definition.  

I watched a "reality" TV show last night with a friend and the show is about a character called Flavor Flav and the actress Bridgette Nielsen.  The show is appropriately entitled "Strange Love."  The strange part is pretty accurate, but the love part shows you where our society has gone with love.  They're a "mismatch" couple and they have fallen madly in love, the show suggests, however, they're living separate lives and doing their own things.  At the end, as she leaves, Flavor says, "maybe she'll go off and get married."  Wait I thought they were supposed to be "in love."  Uhm, I guess that was just something that people say when they have "that feeling."

God says that love never stops being patient and that it never stops believing and that it never stops hoping and doesn't give up.  People leaving their spouse because their spouse wronged them, that's giving up.  Maybe they didn't love them in the first place.  People who have broken off relationships with friends because they say, "that person will never change," they've stopped hoping.  Maybe they didn't love them anyway.  The standard of love as God defines it is so high that we should be totally aware of what we're saying when we use that term.   

Anybody can use the term "love" today, but may I suggest something?  If it isn't love, find another word.    

Carlen