A new definition of love
A short post today…
A while ago there was this girl who was…well, she was pretty amazing…I was kinda nuts about her…
One evening I went to a Young Adult Diocesan event and was all all set to ask her out. Before I could speak to her that evening, the speaker got up and began his talk. During his presentation he gave a definition of “love” that I had never heard before:
“Love….is seeking the good of ‘the other’, in preference to your own, even at the expense of your own happiness”
This conception of love hit me like a tonne of bricks. Seeking the good of the other…even at the expense of my own happiness… Hearing that definition really troubled me and caused me to slam on the breaks and reassess my motives with regards to this girl.
I have heard many definitions of “love”, both in church and out in the world, yet no other has ever cut me to the core in the same way.
Love Park, Philadelphia
a good definition. really good in fact. it helps us tell the difference between a crush or infatuation and true love. but it’s also the model we can use improve all of our relationships. after all, as Christians we’re called to love more than just our significant other.
here’s my working definition of love:
“a selfless allegiance of the heart, formed and solidified by the will.”
it has to be selfless. it has to desire the benefit of the beloved. you have to be willing to sacrifice and it has to be a choice.
AMDG
Humph – you obviously have not listened to enough of my homilies! Either that or you need to get out more. 🙂 That definition (which I was first taught back in 1988 by an otherwise heretical lecturer – it may save him) is just antying way of saying “Greater love has no one than to lay down his life for his friends”. Now who said that….?
Sorry – I am in a bolshi mood this morning.
Pax!
Love is an act, not a feeling. He is willing to die for you, as Jesus has done. That’s the ‘do’ that I see, granted within reason. Whether or not ‘he’ should ask ‘her’ out and all those particulars…may be open to endless analytic discussion. Gives me a headache! Keep it simple, keep it honest, and let your actions undoubtedly reflect your words