About Wisdom and Experience

Experience only translates into wisdom if a lesson is learned and applied from that experience.

Thoughts on Love

There are so many thoughts that have crossed my mind lately, that would be definite blog material. Sometimes when I sit down to type an entry, I'm not even sure where to start!! In this entry I just have a few thoughts about Love.

1.) Love is blind T or F?

a.) My thought is that this is an overused cliche that holds little to no truth. Why does it seem that we as people always choose to focus on the wrongs things? I summit that Love is not blind at all. True Love - whether it love between friends, or family, or romantic love - sees all too clearly. The idea of Love being blind seems to suggest that Love causes people to not see flaws, mistakes, or shortcomings in the people they love. I think true love sees all of these and still loves anyway! That's what makes it so amazing! I don't think that true love causes us to overlook mistakes or flaws; rather it causes us to want what is best for the person we love, whether it is best for us or not. True love is unconditional, and while it may be true that true love loves no matter what, it is not the desire of the Lover's heart to see their loved one(s) hurt because of an unwise decision or lifestyle. While "real" love loves in spite of iniquities, it sees mistakes all to clearly and aches with each painful mistake.

Now, I realize that most of the time when people say "Love is blind" it's in reference to romantic love. Again, I feel this is off the mark. Romantic love, when it is true and pure is no more blind than any other love. Infatuation, however, is blind as a bat... or something that can't see well at all.

2.) Love as a motivation for dangerous decisions.

a.) Love is very compelling. Love is very powerful and can change us from the inside out. While I can't imagine a better motive than "real" love, throughout history, people have used the word "love" in vain as a reason to do some stupid things. One excellent example of this is the story of Samson and Delilah. How did that guy not figure out that Delilah was bad news after the second time she tried to rid him of his supernatural strength?? Too often we behave similarly in our culture today. If we are truly loved by another, will they ask us to be something we're not? Will we be asked to forsake a part of our lives that is central to who God has made us to be? Love is not selfish, and it certainly does not desire to cause pain for the beloved. True love does not make demands or try to take advantage of the loved one. It does not pressure the beloved to do things that he/she believes to be wrong (i.e. "if you really love me, you'll have sex with me, etc.). Too often we settle for infatuation and lust. I feel confident that these things cannot hold a candle to real love. For more on what real love looks like see 1Cor 13:4-13. Which brings me to my last thought for now:

3. Can love really exist apart from God?

a.) While I think that there is a form of attachment or endearment that exists and stems from an individual, I believe that Love - true Love - can not be fully realized unless it is fueled by God himself.

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love"

"This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."

These passages come from 1 John chapter 4. How can it really be love if God, who IS love, is not involved? What a beautiful thing, when we allow God's love to flow to and through us! How amazing for God to be seen through us because of His love that lives in us.

That's all for this entry. Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment or continue a discussion! Thanks and God Bless!

A Lament

disclaimer: this is not intended to be an article of self-righteous judgement or condemnation, but rather a lament; an expression of sadness for the condition of our society.

"Our society, the media, and our modern culture have warped our understanding of Love and healthy sexuality; leaving many casualties in their paths"

I posted the above statement as my status on Facebook a couple of days ago. It's disgusting to me how true this really is. Healthy romantic relationships are few and far between due to lack of self-esteem, and just a misunderstanding of what a healthy relationship looks like. I've heard rumors of children who are sexually active as early as age 11! There is now a generation that is growing up thinking that casual sex and homosexuality are both "normal". Our society as a whole suffers from repetitive exposure to a world of fantasy where there are no absolutes and certainly no consequences for our actions. The truth is that there are more consequences at risk with pre-marital sex than just HIV/AIDS and pregnancy. The emotional and spiritual aspect are beyond understated while sex in and of itself is highly overrated.

Am I the only one who has noticed that TV has reversed the order of a healthy romance? On TV it starts with sex, then they try and figure out if they can coerce a relationship out of the situation. I believe that sex is one of the final installations of a healthy relationship (upon marriage) very much by design. It's hard for me to expound on that at this point.

I also happened to see a TV show today that showed two young ladies who were convinced that they had ugly faces. They had a psychological condition called BDD. This condition is more or less imagined ugliness, in the life-altering sense. I can't help but think that this condition did not exist 100 years ago, before women were exposed to images of "the perfect body" and "the perfect face" every time they turn on the TV or browse the internet or look at a magazine. I doubt that this was an issue before plastic surgery and botox and digital "photo-shopping."

What a terrible, underhanded attack on humanity. We live in a sexually-charged society that shatters the hearts of women and steals the souls of men.

Teenagers and "tweens" are so desperately searching for something to give them worth that they gladly loose themselves; considering nothing sacred when it comes to ways to get attention or ways to feel loved.

Infatuation is so often confused with love. Our concept of true love has diverged from what it truly is and is meant to be; a cheapened, easier substitute. We have strange expectations (or lack there of) of what it means to love and be loved.

Fortunately, I am very blessed to have a wonderful relationship with my wife. My immediate family has set a good example of what real love looks like. I believe that no love has reached it's full potential until it is rooted in the very Love of God. The Bible tells us that God IS Love, so love without God doesn't really make much sense does it?

Because of my (good) experiences with my loved ones, it has become even more obvious to me that there is reason to lament those who have bought into the lies that we are fed of what love and sexuality should look like. It's overwhelming to me. How can this possibly be turned around?? I can't imagine that it can, but with this blog comes a prayer - for if anything can turn it around it is surely God - that the lost would be found in TRUE love and that the lies that are surrounding us will begin to crumble.

Carpe Diem

Carpe Diem. Ever heard this latin phrase before? It's translated as "seize the day." Not a bad motto, but it must be one of the most abused sayings/mottos in our modern society. Too often people use this to rationalize self-destructive or otherwise unhealthy behavior. It's almost as if we say "hurry and mess up as much as you can while you still can!" I can't help but think that there is a terrible flaw in this line of thinking. Sure, I'm all for making the best of today, but what happens if there's a tomorrow? I don't think that whoever coined the phrase Carpe Diem intended it to be a battle cry for reckless living. I think that an improvement on this philsosophy is to live for the BEST for TODAY. There are only a certain amount of things that are truly BEST for today. Those things will change as we grow and enter different stages of life. Here's my proposed motto in place of the popular thought of "Carpe Diem" or "Seize the Day":

Live so that you won't regret it if there's no tomorrow, but also live so that you won't regret today if tomorrow comes.

Here We Go

I have recently realized that I have many thoughts and feelings that seem to demand expressing and so I have set up a blog. At times I get on a soapbox and begin to rant, however, I don't intend for this blog to be a one sided arguement. I hope that it will be something with an overall positive effect; something that can be an encouragement, a disussion opportunity, and at times, perhaps, a wake up call. I have named this blog "One Beggar to Another," because I want to remind anyone who reads my blogs that I'm a person just like them and I know that I'm not perfect. I do, however strive to grow closer to goal of perfection, regardless of whether or not it can be reached by my own effort. My screen name is also intended to reflect the fact that I don't claim to have all the answers, but I am seeking the truth. I invite anyone and everyone to join me on this journey.
God Bless