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I always liked the A Team, especially B.A. Baracus. The most quotable one liner of his that stuck with me: “I ain’t got no time for jibber jabber!” I think that is what we need to say to this world and its incessant talking about earthly things. I was watching television the other day–a deviation from my usual norm–and after aimlessly flipping through the channels a thought struck me. There are so many talking heads and messages being propagated through television that it all bleeds together into one shrill and discordant sound. Television is a stupefying contraption that has somehow had an uncanny ability of determining reality for people. The same could be said of the internet too.

As I watched, my heart was saddened at the messages being sent. It seemed to me that every single program save for a select few had little to no redemptive value about them. Most programs included such strong sexual content and language that one might come away from watching it, thinking that well this is the way the world is apparently! Moreover, there are so many opinions being tossed about that it’s hard to parse through them all–to reach some sort of substantive truth.

The point that I’m trying to make is that our hearts have become hardened. We’re bombarded, nay inundated daily with images of a sensual nature along with news stations that paint a dour and drab view of the world. In addition to all of this, the so-called intellectuals on television offer their human wisdom, which is constantly in a state of flux. In the midst of all of this morass, we–being spiritual beings–try to shape what we see and hear and make some sort of sense out of it. Well, quite frankly there’s none to be gleaned, because the things of this world are mere rags and rubbish when compared to being still before God.

I would rather calm my mind and my heart and sit before the throne of grace than to indulge in the wayward musings of a world that spirals ever so close to entropy. The verbose ramblings of a world that knows not God and is here today and gone tomorrow hold little for the heart of this man who desires eternity.

“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.” (Eccl. 3:11)

We were made for so much more than the filth that we see papered on our television screens–filth that offers us a false narrative, a distortion of reality. If I’m coming across as a prude to you, then I guess I would suggest that you search your own heart and then tell me if I’m in error–because surely what I’m saying is true.

The so-called intellectuals and accomplished thinkers of this age are no different from those of antiquity, albeit we’re a bit further along in the ways of technology, but the enemy still lurks in the shadows using the cleverness of humanity to enslave us. His instruments of war against humanity may have changed over time but his purpose is still the same–to destroy families and foster deeply seated antipathies.

Our response as Christians should be to guard our hearts and minds against the stratagems of the enemy. I must say that if we think we are capable of entertaining such mindless tripe then we will assuredly ourselves fall subject to it. If Jesus had to sequester himself from time to time to be along with the Father and to pray and calm his heart before the throne, then so should we. And to do so, means we need to drown out the babbling of this world, which means we may need to turn off the television and instead live our lives in freedom. If this sounds like utter foolishness to you then I offer this Scriptural support:

“Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe…Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1 Cor. 1:20-21;26-31)

Allow me to be a bit transparent here. Before I was born, my father passed away. My mom raised me on a paltry salary (although I never went without) as a homemaker and I came from a family that included no college graduates. Although it took me awhile to discern God’s calling in my life, He has drawn me out and established me on a path that I’m following now. I could have never foreseen it and surely those in the world could have never conceived it! So you never know what God may want to do with you. You don’t need to be a person of great means who was born into an affluent household or even have two parents to raise you!

So wrench yourself away from what it is that is holding you back. It may be television or perhaps something else. Do not allow the wisdom of this age to cloud your thinking and stifle the Word of Truth within you. Spend time with God and sharpen your spiritual sword for the days are evil. Choose to redeem each day by seeking God rather than seeking earthly wisdom which is so capricious. For the grass withers and the flowers fade but the Word of God stands forever! So perhaps starting today, quiet yourself before the Lord; be still and know that He is God.

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“Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all” or so Alfred Lord Tennyson poetically stated. Let me just say that what I’m about to write may ruffle a few feathers, but I feel absolutely compelled to write it nonetheless. Love has been distorted in our culture. One need look no further than the big screen, television, and the media to arrive at such a concrete conclusion. As I reflect upon my previous two forays into the murky and perilous dating arena, I have observed that the dictum, “men propose, while women dispose” to be as true as any scientific law–and we are subject to this bleak truth inasmuch as we are subject to the force of gravity.

Has it always been like this? In short, no. In our westernized egalitarian culture which assumes the equality of the sexes, women have become so independent that they callously dispose of their significant other–whether it be within marriage, dating, or engagement–without so much as batting an eyelash. I would aver that they’re able to do this because they allow culture (movies, internet, media) to dictate reality for them. They allow culture to guide them in their understanding of love. Those sappy movies have become the new norm for what love looks like. While this may be part and parcel of what love looks like outside the fold of Christianity for non-Christian women, I have found that sadly, culture influences the Church and its people–to include women–more than the inverse.

Now let me stop here and offer this proviso: I know that men are just as guilty at letting culture influence them in their understanding of love as women, but since I am a man, I feel as though I can speak to what I have observed with greater deftness by using my own experience in an anecdotal sense and with the aid of the Spirit. Too often Christian women are more apt to consult horoscopes, Cosmopolitan Magazines, friends, movies, or a slew of self-help books in order to educate themselves about love. The problem with consulting those things is that none of them really teach a Biblical understanding of love. And what is a Biblical understanding of love you ask?

A Biblical understanding of love involves an agape type of love–a sacrificial love that is not dependent upon circumstance or how one feels. Human beings are imperfect creatures, and as such our feelings are unreliable. The old adage, “let your heart be your guide” is quite frankly a bunch of baloney. Loving someone else entails sacrifice for the Christian. Of course I’m referring primarily to romantic love as expressed within a committed monogamous relationship, but more than that, this principle of sacrificial love extends to all human relationships. In order for a relationship to succeed, both man and woman must submit to one another. Men are called to love their women as Christ loved the Church and women are called to submit to men too.

Moreover, perfect love casts out fear. The enemy is the father of lies and his main instrument of wreaking havoc upon God’s people and by extension humanity as a whole, is through fear. He wants you to question your relationship and to seek out worldly wisdom, rather than the perfect and infallible wisdom bestowed to those who seek the Lord. As Christians we are called to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and then all these things will be given to us. Those things may include a successful and happy relationship–but it requires our genuflection first and foremost–our humbling of ourselves before the throne of God’s grace. It requires us to allow the Spirit to empower us to love the other unconditionally–with an unabashed agape love. Truly, to love them even when we may not feel as though we do.

In my humble opinion there is no other way to love for the Christian–both man and woman. All other forms of love are aberrant attempts at speaking to what God has uniquely established to be a reflection of Himself. Within the Godhead we see the perfect embodiment of love. All three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are in community–in relationship. They’re in a relationship without conditions. The love as it exists within the Trinity is perfect and knows no bounds. God has fashioned human beings in such a way that He has created each of us to desire to be in relationship with others. Can we love unconditionally, with an agape type of love?

We can’t do it in our strength, which is precisely why so many marriages fall into disrepair and relationships are rent in two. It’s because one person is seeking out worldly wisdom or perhaps both. But there is hope. While we can’t love unconditionally in our strength, we are called to do so through the indwelling empowerment of the Holy Spirit. When we love in this manner, we gain a better understanding of what it means to love others with a Christlike love. In Christ we see the full embodiment of the Father’s love for His creation. Christ loved each of us so much that he sacrificed himself on the cross, with the full understanding this his audacious demonstration of love might do little to persuade people to love him in return. It is this unrequited love that we as Christians must come to terms with–and ultimately be okay with.

We must be okay with loving someone with the understanding that our love may fall on deaf ears. This is what it means to die to self and to suffer with Christ. Ultimately love between two people involves sacrifice and commitment. Love is not defined as compatibility or how one feels. Love is nourished through open and honest conversations between both people. Being transparent about your feelings and what it is you need from the other is paramount. Obviously there are certain practical things that can be done in order to address relational problems, but all of those things of practicality are moot if one or both people have a mere cursory understanding of Biblical love and what that looks like.

So if you find yourself mourning the loss of a broken relationship even though you loved with a Christlike love, I want to encourage you my brother or sister in Christ. For through your experience you have gained a better understanding of the way in which God loves you! It’s a love that says no matter what, I will love you. Because love is a choice. The enemy and the world that submits to him wants you to believe that it’s based upon feelings–that somehow someone can fall in or out of love, but thanks be to God that He does not fall out of love with you! So come what may in your relationships ahead, submit yourselves first and foremost to Christ and ask yourself, how may I love others with a Christlike type of love?

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