Biblical Love- It’s Not What You May Think

Have you ever heard of the book, “The Five Love Languages” by Gary Chapman?  I read it years ago.  It’s a wonderful book that suggests five different ways people can feel loved, & says every person has a preference for one of those ways over the others.  Although the book was written with couples in mind, I think it’s good for all relationships.  People naturally tend to show others love in ways they feel the most loved, often without realizing that the other person may feel more loved by a different action.

While it is important to know how best to make those in your life feel loved, I believe there is something else that is equally important.  We need to know how to love people God’s way. 

Of course with narcissists, they are convinced it is loving behavior to give them anything they want & to do anything they order their victims to do.  If someone doesn’t do such things, in the narcissist’s eyes, they are unloving, selfish jerks.  When subjected to narcissistic abuse, it’s easy to believe that they are right, & having any sort of boundaries is unloving & selfish.  This is extremely wrong however!    

Ephesians 5:2 in the Amplified Bible says, “and walk continually in love [that is, value one another—practice empathy and compassion, unselfishly seeking the best for others], just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God [slain for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.”  Notice that one part that says, “unselfishly seeking the best for others.”  Sometimes the most loving thing you can do may look unloving on the surface, but is truly the best thing for someone else. 

Giving someone everything they want isn’t loving in a Godly way.  It makes people entitled & selfish.  It isn’t loving because it isn’t seeking the best for them.

When someone is dysfunctional, they may think that it’s loving behavior to treat them a certain way, such as enabling unhealthy behavior.  The truth is that isn’t loving at all.  Although it may not feel like it to the dysfunctional person, it is much more loving to have healthy boundaries & encourage good behavior.

Sometimes the most loving thing you can do is to walk away from someone.  That may sound hard to believe, but it’s true!

If someone is abusive, they need to know that behavior is unacceptable so they can be motivated to improve their behavior.  Admittedly, with narcissists, this is highly unlikely, but it’s only right to try to get the point across to them by setting boundaries.  Eventually if this doesn’t work, walking away is a very viable option.  It is best for the victim, obviously but also for the abuser.  Walking away removes the opportunity for the abuser to sin by abusing the victim.  It also models healthy behavior for the abuser. 

If you have been in this painful position of needing to walk away from an abusive person, chances are you’ve been criticized harshly for going no contact, especially if your abuser was a parent or other family member.  People are extremely critical of those who sever ties with their parents, no matter the circumstances, as you no doubt have learned.  This message is for you today.  Please don’t think they are right.  Walking away is a loving thing to do in such cases.  You did what was best for you & for the abuser in your life. 

Enabling Is NOT Loving!

It seems to be a common false believe that giving someone everything they want, enabling them to do anything they want without consequences is loving & even Godly behavior. 

So many people I spoke with in my family were downright cruel to me because I wouldn’t see my father at the end of his life in 2017.  The barrage of phone calls, social media messages & emails was intense.  I barely read any of the messages, because after reading a couple, I knew how incredibly toxic the rest would be.  I thought it wiser to protect my mental health by saving the messages without reading them as evidence for police if I opted to take that route.  Anyway after my father’s death, I learned that because I refused to say goodbye, he finally turned to God!  In spite of my fears it wouldn’t happen, my father gave his heart to Jesus at the end of his life, & is now in Heaven.  (That story is on my website at: http://www.CynthiaBaileyRug.com if you’d like to read it)

While none of us knew it at the time, me not saying good bye to my father was for his benefit.  My family clearly thought I was a cold hearted witch who stayed away out of spite.  I knew in my heart God wanted me to stay away & going would have had terrible consequences, but I didn’t know any further details.  Me not going made him reach out to God for the first time in I don’t know how long.  If I had gone, I firmly believe he wouldn’t have turned to God.  So as strange as it may sound, not saying my final good byes to my father was the most loving thing I could do in that situation.

Although many situations are different, the basics are similar.  Someone wants you to do something that you know is not in their best interest.  It may even cause you pain or problems to do that thing, yet it is expected of you to do it.  If you do it, your actions are applauded & if it caused you problems, those problems ignored.  If you don’t do it, you’re criticized & even shamed for being selfish or unreasonable. 

This is utterly WRONG!

Yes, it’s good to do for other people.  Some people genuinely need help & sometimes you are exactly the right person to give that help.  But doing anything a person wants isn’t always a good thing.  Look what 1 Corinthians 10:23 says:

All things are lawful [that is, morally legitimate, permissible], but not all things are beneficial or advantageous. All things are lawful, but not all things are constructive [to character] and edifying [to spiritual life].  (AMP)

1 Corinthians 6:12 is similar & just as informative:

Everything is permissible for me, but not all things are beneficial. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything [and brought under its power, allowing it to control me]. (AMP)

Just because you can do something doesn’t mean it’s for the best that you do it, either for you or for someone else.  People who are accustomed to getting everything they want are spoiled, entitled, selfish & often feel that they don’t need God.  By saying no sometimes, it actually benefits people.  They learn to be more self sufficient, they don’t become entitled, selfish jerks.  And yes, they may recognize everyone’s need for God in themselves.    

Maybe situations in your life aren’t as dire, but still, if you know that doing something for someone isn’t in their best interest or yours, don’t do it!  The good will far outweigh the bad!