Ali Ballweg

What do you love? The first responses that usually come to people’s minds are God, family and friends. These are awesome answers and exactly what God wants us to love. 

But then think about all the other countless things that you say you love. I love ice cream. I love my car. I love reading. These things in themselves are not bad… to like… but should we really be using the word love to describe our feelings toward them? 

My personal opinion is no. Love is a powerful thing. I don’t think we should be using the same word to describe our feelings towards the one who gives us eternal life and our feelings toward something that we eat.

“Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preservers. Love never fails.” -1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Look back on all the things you’ve said you love in the past 24 hours and then try to apply this passage to them. Doesn’t quite work does it? This is a good test to see what is really worthy of our love. Even if you don’t really mean that you love it in the same way as you love God, you’re still saying it. We need to mean what we say and say what we mean. Our speech is a big way of how we are perceived.

So, I have been making a conscious effort of how I use the words love and hate. And my proposal is for you to pay attention to your own speech and the speech of others for at least 24 hours. I have a feeling that after that love will take on a whole new meaning for you.

-God Bless