Living with or without Love?

For what do we know of love? Do we know its depths or its reasons? Do we know how it is that it lives inside of us? Why is it that love is so central to who we are as human beings?

Did you know that the Bible tells us that God is love? And that we could give all glory to God and sacrifice everything and still it mean nothing if not done out of love?

And what is the motive that drives each of us in our daily lives? Is it self-worth or pride? Is it actually love?

The answer should be love, but it seems that our own desires for self  tend to take over what should be. We offer ourselves, but in return we expect others to do the same. We let a friend barrow our car or stay at our house for a night or two, expecting that they would thank us abundantly, or tell others about how amazing we are for doing this, or extend the same offers when we are in need. It is quite rare for most people that such an act is truly selfless, even if we may think that we are selfless in doing what we do.

We live in a fairly loveless society. Flowers sent to her work may be a loving gesture in and of itself, but the motive behind this could very well be self-seeking.

I love my boyfriend dearly, but I often find myself loving me over him. Often times, I may find myself in a situation where I could be upset with him or simply let it go or talk it over calmly without any accusations. Sometimes I will choose a mature, loving way to react to something, but much more often I find myself choosing to follow the choice that seems easiest at the moment. I get upset, raise my voice, give the evil eye, ignore, and eventually cry because I am so frustrated by the argument that has occured.

Did you know that hate is not the opposite of love, but rather the absence of love? From this understanding we can see that in the times we don't choose love we are choosing hate. How awful is that? When I decide to be selfish in my relationships I am hating others. I am acting in hate on these occasions. But why? I'm honestly no more worthy that those around me. If truly acting in love, I would put others ahead of myself.

Philippians 2:3 "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself."

1 Corinthians 13:5b "[Love] does not seek its own"