Lessons of Love (Shortened)

By Dacon Scott. (Read the entire article here)

Let me make the claim that you can love somebody, and not agree with them.  You can love somebody, and not like them.  You can love somebody, even when you absolutely can’t stand to be around that person.

Parents have understood a few of the points I am going to mention, and they are more focused on the other person than on their own pain and inconvenience, and have become more in control of their emotions, and so they are capable of loving their children even when they behave like little devils.  Couples are so focused on the other person’s happiness that they barely notice their own pride, ego, and sacrifices (with some practice of course!).  They have also realized that disagreements don’t have to ruin their relationship, and so they have hope in their love, even when disagreements come up, and can continue to remain calm and together despite them.  So it is that when an individual comes to care about somebody else ^more than themselves, they become capable of loving that person despite what they do to them.

God is perfect, therefore he loves all people with a perfect and infinite love.  Nothing we can do will ever get rid of his love for us because it is based on him, not on us, and he will never be anything other than perfect and constant.  He may not like what we are doing, but he cares about us SOOOO much and is so focused on our well-being that it outweighs his dissatisfaction at our actions.

WORTH, EFFORTS, and ACCOMPLISHMENTS- 

There are three parts to the life or soul. It is the separation of these three categories that allows a parent, friend, brother, church leader, or God to simultaneously love a person, and yet punish that person for a bad action, in order that that person will be able to learn from the experience, and not make bad decisions in the future, and therefore become a more happy person.  It is the same thing that allows God to love us, and yet give us commandments, because while he loves us for our WORTH, he wants us to be taught and motivated to use our EFFORTS in the best way so that we can have the absolute best RESULTS in the end.

In regards to love, the most important part is WORTH.  It is what allows for everything I have described up to this point to take place.  The best way to describe WORTH is to say that it is the ingredient or part of us that deserves love and respect, that merits it, that demands it, that requires it.  Not just from people that like us, but from EVERYBODY.

Then we have EFFORTS/CHOICES/AGENCY, which is the sum of the way that a person makes conscious choices in their life.  Whether they be with the goal of doing what is right, or disregarding what is right.  This category is the basis of what God uses to give eternal blessings to people. It is also what determines the kind of person that individual becomes.

The third category is sadly the only one that anyone ever pays attention to nowadays.  It is important in its own right, but in our world we make it out to be ten times more important than anything else, when in reality, it is probably the least important, thanks to the Sacrifice of Jesus, which can make up in this category for any external thing that can befall us.  This category or part is ACCOMPLISHMENTS or RESULTS.  These are the external consequences of our lives... This category is the easiest to observe, and that is probably why it has become the focus of mortal society.  It is something we can detect with our five senses.

What Love Is/Isn't-

Love is the sincere desire for someone else to be happy, and to do what is necessary for that person to enjoy the greatest amount of happiness possible.

It is because each of these categories is dependent on different criteria that they have different applications to our lives and also, different verbs/actions and attributes are associated with each one. Love is the action based on worth. Liking or admiration or fondness corresponds to efforts and results. So, since love is not based on efforts or results, it should not vary as those two things vary. Love is NOT giving someone their every whim and desire.  It is NOT just letting them do whatever they want without telling them where they are going wrong.  It is NOT something that we should give depending on whether or not the person does something to “deserve” it.  It is NOT something that is dependent on them at all.

Having love for someone and giving it to them is what brings joy and happiness in life, not getting it from other people.  That is why parents can be happy and loving even when their kids are behaving horrendously.  That is how people who have lost everything else in life, can still be happy, because they have love.  That is why God has a perfect and infinite amount of happiness, because he has a perfect and infinite amount of love for us, and expresses it to us in so many ways.

Love is what motivates us towards goodness, so that is why the way to fix the world is by helping others to feel more loved and be more loving, starting with ourselves.