I have been thinking – maybe over thinking and over analyzing, but all of you that really know me, well you know that’s me. And some of you still love me with my faults. lol “I love you.” Think about it. What does it mean? Now be truthful and search your heart and soul. Be honest. What does it really mean? Has the phrase “I love you” become watered down a bit? Is it overused and under valued? Do you sometimes just say it without truly meaning it? Has it become a habit? Do you use it like you use “Good Morning” or “Goodbye”? I will be honest and say that I have been guilty of saying it without giving it much thought. I do believe if we are honest with ourselves, we will find that most of us have been guilty at some time or another. I know I often say, “I love that place or I love that food or I love those shoes or…., even I love you friend………” Has the phrase lost some value or meaning for you? Why do I ponder this you must be wondering? Well, there is a flip side to that. How can you really love inanimate objects? And does the person you are saying “I love you” to, do they know you mean it deeply or just as - you are a good friend and I would do some things for you, but I may not go out of my way for you. Did the true meaning get communicated? So my question….Is there different levels of love or does love have different meaning to different people and different things? Lately it seems that in today’s world it has become easier for words or phrases to be stretched to their limits, ready to break if stretched too far and often losing meaning in the process. Phrases like “I Love You” that once meant something are tossed around without much thought about what it truly means to love someone; the good, the bad, and everything in between. We’ve somehow become a society in which we only find value in the words and not the meaning behind the words. So we take the words and use them freely; we toss them about to either get what we want or because it seems like the logical thing to do at a certain point in a relationship. Many of us, however, forget that when it comes to love there is absolutely nothing logical about it. We forget that “I Love You” is a statement with power; something that may alter the way we perceive the world. To love somebody is to be willing to do anything for someone else; it is selfless and pure with absolutely no strings attached. It is the willingness to make ourselves vulnerable in the most dangerous way possible and to trust someone else with this vulnerability. It is the complete acceptance of a person for everything he or she is or is not from the strengths to the shortcomings. To throw the phrase “I Love You” around is to make false proclamations of feelings that we do not truly have; to make a mockery of the connection that comes from loving someone. Sadly in today’s world it has become something that is overused and undervalued, stretching the phrase until it bends or breaks and loses its meaning in the process. Even I am guilty of this from time to time. My immediate reaction to someone saying “I Love You” is to say it back without considering what it means before uttering the words. It has become so easy for us to just say it without ever thinking about the power behind it. Couples say it after a few weeks of dating, only to break up in the months following. Friends say it to other friends until one fight destroys the friendship permanently and neither party cares to fix it. Maybe it’s time that we take a moment to think about what it means to love someone before we openly declare it. Like so many other things, once it is said there is no taking it back. Maybe it’s time we put the value back in it before one day we wake up and the words themselves lose all meaning. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. Love never fails.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Of course love is not the only overused word. Our daily speech is full of exaggeration. Another example, my neighbor informed another neighbor he would “kill them” if they walked across his freshly manicured lawn. He thinks highly of his lawn, but I doubt anyone would die as a result. Words are powerful. By simply saying a word, a person can be sentenced to death or to live. The tongue does indeed have the power to heal and destroy. We say things without really thinking about the meaning and power behind words. I know I’m guilty of it. I’m certainly not saying we give up on love. The world needs more love than anything right now. Let’s just vow to put some value and meaning behind it. I don’t know why God put this on my heart this morning, but I know it is meant for me and I am sharing in case some of you need it too. I will try harder to truly love and not just say it.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 13:37:04 +0000
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