Pretend that you like me...

Of all the things I could write about this week I have to choose that which is most cliche and expected: The presidential nominees!... Totally kidding. Much more relevant and disgusting that the menacing propaganda from snakes in suits... err... I mean politicians, is the upcoming holiday referred to as St. Valentine's Day. 

Even though this holiday has survived the centuries as a day of love, for a growing number of people it has burrowed into their hearts and planted seeds of distaste and even hatred. Many argue that Valentine's Day has become too commercialized and since someone seeks to profit from the occasion, every instance of store bought romance is defiled by the lust of money. Others see it as an insult to a different kind of jealousy. They see happy couples everywhere expressing their shared love and realize the emptied void of their own hearts and nobody to cling to. 

Well... maybe if they'd figured out that you need to buy a girl some candy and a stuffed animal, then they wouldn't be alone on Valentine's Day OR "Single Awareness Day (S.A.D.) as it's most notably labeled. 

If I may be irate at single people for a brief moment; you people need to grow up. "Oh, we're so upset that other people flaunt their relationships in our faces..." Stop whining just because you haven't grown out of your awkward "ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME" stage in life. Let other people be happy and celebrate the fact that they have found happiness. Otherwise, people aren't going to even pretend to be sad at your funeral. Just saying.

We have such a twisted view of love. We demand it be pure and devoid of any trace impurities that lie in the human psyche. We maintain that is must be whole-heartedly selfless and flamboyant; risking all, neglecting the cost and so powerfully persuasive that nobody in their right mind could help but fall under its power. 

This may be too much to expect from a human being... While I do agree that standards need to be extended far higher than they are actually expressed, I also believe that people need to be more understanding when talking about their expectation for "true love."

Where do we get this concept of love? Hopefully it's from the Bible and not a Disney movie. Warped concepts of love plague our society and it's not just what we expect from the other person, it's how WE express it. 

Consider James as he defines love. It's not that WE love God, but that he loved us. He sent his Son to DIE in our place. He came down in person. Humbled himself, allowed people to beat him, mistreat him, abuse him, and kill him...

Just so we would get the picture and love him too, right? 

Wrong. His motivation was not to cause us to love Him back. God didn't say "Jesus, go down and make a grand gesture. Surely if these humans see what I'm willing to do for them, then they will finally love us!" God loved. Period. The motivation WAS love; his love for us. Not the promise of our love for him. He would've still shown his love (as he had throughout the entire Old Testament) even if not a single person decided to love God in return.

Ok, so what does this have to do with Valentine's Day? Guys and Girls, if you love someone, then you shouldn't be so disheartened or dismayed if they do not return the affection you give them on Valentine's Day. If your love is contingent on their reciprocated affection, then you don't have love for them at all. It's just your desire to have your ego stroked. It's lust under the guise of "true love."

If your love is real, it won't matter if they ever even give you the time of day (although WHY you love this person in the first place may be called into question, you NUT!) because true love LOVES despite the reaction. No more of this silliness over the fact that your prospective Valentine didn't gush over the flowers or chocolate or other gesture you gave. Are you loving just to be loved in return? That's not love. 

Think about that BEFORE you invest in too many chocolate hearts, ok?