I’ve
never read “1984” but I understand that a big part of its appeal has to do with
how words & phrases with a certain meaning or implication are used to mean
something entirely different. We’re living with that today. For example, the "Affordable Care Act" actually does the opposite of what its name implies.
But,
let’s bring things down to a more personal level. If we are to have a civil
society, we must be able to communicate. (On a side note, you can see that one
of the first things Satan did to orchestrate the fall of man was to disrupt
clear communications between God & Adam & Eve. Genesis 3:1 says, Now the serpent
was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has
God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” Is it possible
that there is a spiritual element to what we see happening in our society
related to what some have called “doublespeak”?)
My
hope is that each person reading this has had the wonderful experience of
having someone say to you, “I love you.” Additionally, I hope that the person
actually meant it & understood what it means to love someone. You see, the
sentence “I love you” can mean a lot of things to a lot of people; this
unfortunately is especially true about the one who has just said it & the
one who just heard it.
Without
going into all the various self-centered meanings that might be behind such a
declaration of affection, let’s just look at how I have come to understand the
meaning of love during my nearly 44 years of walking with Christ.
First,
love does not focus on the feelings of the one who claims to love someone. In fact,
while romantic love does involve emotions, emotions tend to play a very small
part of love because they are so fickle & changeable. The emotions that
need to be prioritized are those of the one who is loved, not the one who
claims to love.
Second,
love does not prioritize the benefits to the one who says “I love you.” Instead,
it seeks the greatest ultimate good of its object, even if that means personal
sacrifice for the one who loves another. It’s not about “what you do for me,”
but how my love for you can bring about the best for you.
Third,
love grows in its reflection of how God describes it in such passages as I
Corinthians 13 & in how it is reflected in the life of Jesus.
So,
the next time you hear someone say “I love you,” ask yourself what they mean. Don’t
get 1984ed.
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