The Concept of Love
Has someone ever told you “I love you”? How did you feel? Have you ever felt loved? What does love really
mean?
Love is a strong feeling of affection and
concern for a person or a thing. The truth is that everyone needs love and
loves to be loved. Without love the
world is an unsuitable place to live in.
There are different ways of expressing love, and
love means different things to different people.
For example, to an
attractive young lady, a footballer, a boy who has a new girlfriend and a
mother, love would mean different things.
Types of Love
In Greek, there are four
words for ‘Love’: Storge, Philia, Eros and Agape
Storge: This refers to family
affection. It is the love a parent has for a child and a child for a
parent. It is a relationship of
warmth, comfort and togetherness that is based more on familiarity than
merit.
|
Philia: This is friendship love,
which exists between people who share similar interests such as sports,
religion, academics, professions, etc.
This kind of love is warm, may not be jealous or exclusive and does
not resent addition to its circle.
|
Eros: This is romantic and
sexual love. It exists between a male
and female. It refers to the whole romantic side of our nature. It is an
appreciation and admiration of each other’s sexuality. This type of love can
fluctuate.
|
Agape: This is divine
love. It is an unconditional love that
is rooted in God’s nature. It is giving and selfless. “For God so loved the
world that He gave…” John 3:16.
|
All the first three kinds
of love are polluted and corrupted by sinful nature but when they are founded
in Agape, they become pure
Love and Infatuation
Infatuation, simply stated, is a selfish inward
looking emotion that comes quickly and disappears just as quickly. It can occur at first sight or contact. It is “being temporarily filled with an
intense and unreasoning attraction to a person or a thing” (the Oxford
Secondary Dictionary).
Listen to this story: Dan had never been to this
part of town where a basketball competition was about to begin. On arriving at
the venue he went to admire the environment, the basketball pitch and other
attractions around. Then he sighted Rose who also came for the
competition. Instantly, Dan fell in love
with her and started imagining how they could be together. He did not waste any
time in approaching her. “Hello, I love you. I want you to be my girlfriend. I
love you so much and in fact I cannot do without you.” Rose looked at him with admiration. “I love you too and I’m ready for you,” she
replied. Then they both started chatting excitedly.
Can you call this love? Let’s
look out some differences between love and infatuation
Love
|
Infatuation
|
|
Hurries:
|
Takes time to know and
give
|
-Super big, rush for
security, acceptance, affection, adventure
|
|
Seeks to change
|
Believing the best,
thinks the best, always dependable, aims to build and make better
|
-Wants to change
personality, lifestyle to fit in with me or my stereotype
|
|
Demands
|
Longs to serve,
thoughtful, sensitive and caring
|
-Wants to be served, becomes
indifferent, does not take time to understand.
|
|
Possessive/insecure
|
Freedom to develop and
have many friends, time and space to be oneself.
|
-Hostile and distressed
over any person or activity that deprives you of time together
|
|
Easily provoked
|
Honest, willing to look
at weakness in self and others
|
-Ignores and hides
differences and weaknesses, fear, etc.
|
|
Selfish
|
Greatest desire to see
that others’ needs are met first
|
-Wants personal needs met
first- Emotional needs must be satisfied
|
Infatuation may mislead you to think that you
are in true love, but after a few days or months you will discover that true
love is lacking. Do not be a victim of infatuation (lust). Be wise and turn to Jesus with all your
heart. Note that all forms of sexual sin are a direct product of infatuation
(lust).
John. 3:16, 1 Cor. 13
No comments:
Post a Comment