The Dangers Of Love Today
How Bad Is It?
As we approach this final week in our study of love, I wanted to take some time to address some of the wrong ways in which we view this characteristic. So far, it has been a great journey as we have discussed the biblical types of love, how we should apply this love, and even how God applies this love towards us. However, one thing we can’t afford to do is mix up what our current society calls love with the love that we see in scripture. How far off is our current culture today from the love that is described in God’s Word? Do we only have some parts of it wrong, or do we need to shift our view of this entirely? To answer that question, I find it best that we go back to the passage where it all began in 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 says, “4 Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. 5 It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, 6 it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” Now if you ran through what our society calls love today through this passage, how much would pass this test? I would imagine, not much of it. In fact, John MacArthur on this exact topic mentions, “Popular culture desperately tries to blur the line between genuine love and immoral passion. But all such immorality is a total perversion of genuine love because it seeks self-gratification rather than the good of others.” With that being said, let’s look at the most hated biblical aspects of love according to our culture today.
Pride & Unrighteousness
For starters, I think we can go through this entire passage and nit-pick how our world doesn’t follow each of these to a T, but we’re going to pick the ones that I believe our world hates to follow the most. The first of course then, is our view of arrogance. I think there is a reason that this passage mentions bragging, arrogance, and seeking our own benefit. I believe that reason is because of how automatic our human desire is to serve ourselves and give credit to ourselves whenever we do something we deem as good. If we help someone, we want others to know. If we give money to charity, we want recognition. If we love others who notice we are unloved, we at least want a pat on the back. Very rarely do we love others for the sole sake of love. I even wonder how much people would even give money today if it didn’t help them out on their taxes. Every act of love in this day and age has to be rewarded if we go out of our way to do it. And that is by far a very arrogant way to view love. Look at what the psalmist says about pride in Psalm 10: 4 “4 The wicked, in his haughtiness, does not seek Him. There is no God in all his schemes.” If we claim we are loving and prideful (or haughty) at the same time, we are only fooling ourselves. Anyone who loves someone in the way that scripture commends cannot do so with a prideful heart. It's a very sad thing to point out, but in our world today, it is very hard to find someone who genuinely loves someone else without any benefit coming back to them. And yet, this is exactly how our Lord has called us to love one another.
Furthermore, we see that love does not rejoice in unrighteousness. There is not enough that could be said on this one aspect right here. The rejoicing and love that this nation has for unrighteousness not only shows that we don’t love how God wants us to, but is also why I and many others no longer consider the U.S. a Christian nation. Despite what people tell you they believe, there is no question that this country loves what it loves and has no guidelines or rails for what they wants to do. Morality is no longer something that is taught, it is something that is felt. ‘If you feel like doing something, who am I to say it’s wrong?’ This view of love is just simply incorrect because it can’t even be called love in the first place. Letting everyone around walk in a manner that they see fit is not loving, it’s quite the opposite. If we see someone on the way to Hell and we simply think that the best way to lead them to God is by letting them continue in their unrighteousness, we don’t read our Bibles enough. Look at what Jesus tells us in Matthew 18:15 “15 “Now if your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” If we truly claim we love as Christ does, we cannot simply ignore the lost or our brothers who walk in unrighteousness. We must show them the truth.
Endurance
Lastly, I want to look at the final critique of love in this passage that talks about endurance. How much more loving do you think we would all be if we endured with others the way that the Lord has endured with you? I know that’s a weighty question, but that’s kind of the point. We are so quick to give up on others when they mess up or sin against us, but if God gave up on us when we did the same, we would all be doomed. The best way I find for my love for others to be enduring is not simply by giving them more patience, but by reminding myself how much more enduring God has been with me. This will humble you very quickly. In a world where you should never speak to someone again if they accidentally offend you, I find this principle monumental in showing our current culture what true love really looks like. Look at how Colossians 3:12-13 tells us to go about this, “12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so must you do also.”
Just as God has forgiven us, we must endure with our brothers and sisters through their sin, their hardships, and their wrongdoings as well. This type of endurance not only strengthens us but shows those whom we are loving, that we really are loving as God has commanded. Before we close, I want to foreshadow what our last post will be about. I skipped over what I believe to be the most hated aspect in this entire list and we will be dedicating our last post this month to that very issue. That aspect, of course, is the truth. Until then, I hope and pray that you are comforted and challenged by a reminder of how our love should look vastly different from the rest of the world today. May we never embrace what this society, culture, or government tells us what love is, but may we always go back to the very author of love itself to show us what true love really looks like.
Sources
[1] “Access Your Bible from Anywhere.” BibleGateway.Com: A Searchable Online Bible in over 150 Versions and 50 Languages., www.biblegateway.com/. Accessed 2023.
[2] Authentic Love by John MacArthur. (n.d.). Ligonier Ministries. https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/true-love
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