Bible Study: 1st John 2, 12 to 17. Luke 2, 36 to 40.
There is song by Brick and Lace with the title “Love is wicked.” I had
to study the lyrics myself to find out what why these ladies would arrive as
such a conclusion. According to them:
Running around I Can't Get Through My Day.
Thoughts of You Just Keep Consuming Me.
I Thought I Could Do It But Now I See.
That You're Not Mine, And I Was Wrong To Think You'd Change.
I Wish You Could Stay With Me Another Day.
I Wish I Could Change Your Mind And Make You Stay.
I I'd Give Anything To Hear You Say.
I'll Be Lovin You Eternally.
Tears on Ma Pillow because your Love Is Wicked.
Cry Me a River cause your Love Is Wicked...
Can't Sleep At All because your Love Is Wicked.
Pain In My Heart because your Love Is Wicked.
I Loved You From The Very Start.
Even Though I Knew That You Would Break My Heart
And I, Couldn't Resist …
Was I, A Fool, To Think I'd pay nothing? …
Anybody Have A Remedy Or A Cure?
Someone Call De Doctor Or Emergency Crew…
Brick and Lace asked a question and they ended the song without
answering it. “Anybody have a remedy or a cure?” Surprisingly, no musician has
ever answered it but our readings today contain the answer. The only remedy or
cure for this kind of “wickedness” is NOT TO FALL IN LOVE WRONGLY. And mind
you, it is not just about falling in love with the wrong person, we can also fall
in love with the wrong object, place or reality.
In fact, John hits the nail on the head when he said: “Do not love the
world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who
love the world; for all that is in the world-- the desire of the flesh, the
desire of the eyes, the pride in riches-- comes not from the Father but from
the world. And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the
will of God live forever.” 1 John 2, 15 to 17.
How can we who were made to last forever by a God who lives forever stoop
so low as to fall in love with things that do not last forever? How come we do
not realise that we are only setting up ourselves for eternal pain when we give
our heart to passing things? Imagine this line of the song, “I loved you from
the very start even though I knew you would break my heart and I couldn’t resist,
was I a fool?” Is the answer not obvious? Yes. I am a fool if I allow myself
fall in love with something (someone) that would eventually break me to pieces
or perhaps send me to hell in the long run.
So, the question now is: “How do we bring it down, how can we stop
hurting ourselves with wrong loves?” The solution is to allow the love you have
for God become greater than anything else in the world. The only way to escape
being consumed by wrong loving is to put God first and love him with a higher
degree of love than any created thing on earth. If we love God as we should,
then we would no longer be attached to anything else. We would have a somewhat
carefree attitude to things, and we would find it easy to let go when these
things are trying to become obstacles on our way in serving God. If we love God
as we should, then we would obey his voice before that of any human being, we
would go to any extent to please God even if it means paying the ultimate
sacrifice of our very lives.
The truth is that, the precept of loving God above everything else is
not just one fanciful idea, it is pure wisdom. Jesus himself asked: “For what
does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” Mark 8, 36.
What is the point killing ourselves over things that are not essential to our
real life which is heaven? Why all these sleepless nights? Why all these hassling
and bustling? Why are we trying to make money by all means to the extent that
money itself become the god we serve? When money calls, we answer, when it
gives instructions, we obey, when money says ‘be there by 9am’, we even get
there by 8.30am. But when God says: ‘be in church by 10am’, we start leaving
the house by 10.30am. When God says, ‘do not steal, do not commit adultery, do
not bear false witness’ etc., we bluntly disobey.
Dear friends, love doesn’t have to be wicked if we love right. God alone
deserves our love. See how Anna, the prophetess because of her love for God
spent her entire life in the temple serving God night and day from the days of
her youth till she was eighty four. God rewarded her by allowing her see Jesus
and she was just at the right place and at the right time to praise God in
confirmation that the baby Jesus was no ordinary child.
Let us Pray:
Lord Jesus, may my love for the world never rise above or come in
between my love for you. Help me to put you first and value you more than
anything else on earth. Save me from unnecessary pain and regret as a result of
wrong loving. Amen.
God bless you. Good Morning. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is
well with you.
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