How Do I Love Thee?

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, it keeps no record of wrongs. It always protects, it always trusts, it always hopes, it always perseveres. -1 Corinthians 13:4-5;7


Sometime ago, I blogged here about the nature of love:  http://troalbridge.blogspot.com/2014/09/what-kind-of-love.html 

Love has again been on my mind as I look around me.

"You just don't understand," is a common variation on the theme, "Men just don't understand." One hears it so much one has to wonder, why hasn't anybody wrote a symphony around this subject?

Even I, who, as you know, have been blessed with a wife who dotes on me and forgives my many shortcomings, sometimes hear this all-too-familiar tune.

Male- female thing, right? Battle of the sexes and all that?

But I'm not here to hate on the ladies (believe it or not). No.

The thing that concerns me most is how we guys fail to be leaders in our homes and relationships. 

I make the assumption that, as Christian people, we are all familiar enough with Scripture to agree on this foundational fact of relationships: The man is supposed to lead. And there are many qualifications, admonitions and instructions to guide us in this concept.

The problem is, I think that we guys in seeking to be sensitive have succumbed to the current definition of LOVE.

Now I am about to step on many toes here and opine that for some, this definition seems to be, "Don't tell me what to do, but affirm me in what I feel is right and proper."

Hmmm? Did I say that?  Is that really the mindset of some in defining what they will accept as "love" from their mate, their friend, their co-religionist, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera?

If you think about it, we all have exhibited that very mindset in relating to our Lord and God. True?

If I really and truly love you, am I not responsible to not just question that mindset, but invite you to do so? To lovingly ask, "Is that really what you think?"

Being shaped in part by our environment (who was your mother? who was your father? how did they interact?), we bring certain assumptions to any discussion.

All I'm saying is we need to examine those assumptions in the light of God's word.

And men, we are admonished to seek wisdom, in part, to be able to lead in these discussions.