What's Amore?

What is love? (and may I add 'don't hurt me, don't hurt me no more'...I liked Night at the Roxbury).

If there is a more overused and misused word in the English language it might just be the word "love". We throw it around like it is a catch all verb/noun that can describe anything from a toaster to a person we have known for a lifetime.

The Greeks realized there were so many different ways and means to love that they actually had four different words for love. To be such a complex and, quite frankly, convoluted concept, a message of love seems to permeate itself through even the most juvenile sentiments.

I'm amazed at the numerous teen pop sensations that sing about love and what it IS and what it ISN'T. I have no doubt that they understand what it is to love their slap bracelets and pogs (did I just date myself with that one?), but to claim to know anything about a deeper love than that seems ludicrous to me. Especially when you're only 15.

By that age, I believe most are still developing an appreciation for what it means to love parents and family...let alone other people. As we begin our teen years, I think we finally begin to shed the moniker of dependents (on some levels) and congruently shed our subconscious notions of our parents being solely providers. We begin to make the CHOICE to love them. Yet, I would argue that our ability to love others is still in its infancy by the time most of us were sporting braces and studying for that first driver's test.

And now, in a world that says we can love our things as much as the people around us, it is difficult to actually qualify what loving another human being means. As I observe how people interact with each other- be it friends, acquaintances, or strangers, I see how easily we disregard loving others and jump straight into quarrels and confrontations over the smallest of issues. Just like if that aforementioned lovable toaster burnt our bread, we can anger at the people we say we love just as easily.

I believe it comes down to expectations. We EXPECT those we love to act a certain way or BE a certain way just as we expect the toaster we love to toast efficiently. When people fail to meet the tenants we either consciously or subconsciously establish for them, the "love" we have begins to wane. I'm as guilty of this as any one, and it bothers me that I am that way.

In writing this, I hope to expose my own struggles with truly "loving thy neighbor" so that I can get better at doing so CONSISTENTLY. Hopefully, you'll consider this in your own life as well.

If we honestly want to love others, it must be completely selfless, choosing to show kindness and patience with the people in our lives despite their visible flaws or any "hidden" flaws that might surface later. That is not to say we accept or condone through apathy any behaviors we see as hurtful to others, themselves, or us. On the contrary. But we do have an obligation to those we claim to love to express our concerns in ways that are not condescending or resentful.

In general, I'm just trying to appreciate the people God has put in my life and show them the same GRACE that he has shown me. Because when it all comes down, the ULTIMATE way to love someone is by demonstrating GRACE.

That's Amore.

What I'm into:

Song- Cunninlynguists "Love Ain't- feat. Tonedeff"- Despite the suggestive name of the band, the song is quite good with some great lines in there. One of my favorite rap songs right now because the message is a positive one and the rhyming schemes are pretty unique. They use words in this song that I'm not sure if most popular 'musicians' would even know the definitions. It's smart, catchy, and quick. That's why I like it.

Movie- I just saw INCEPTION last night and it was MIND BLOWING! Well put together from the acting to the visuals to the score to the storytelling. Christopher Nolan (director- also of Batman Begins, Dark Knight, and Momento) takes some very complex and intricate concepts and simplifies them by integrating humanizing emotional draws. This is one film well worth the hype.

Bible Verse- 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline."