Individuals crave love. Much of our lives are spent pursuing love, either from a mate or from family or friends. There is an entire holiday devoted to the concept.
But why? What is it about love that people find so desirable? Why is love important?
Related questions: What is important? Is happiness the most important purpose in life? Why do we feel the need to belong? What do we have in common?
The Bible describes love at
1 Corinthians 13:4-8.
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous. It does not brag, does not get puffed up, does not behave indecently, does not look for its own interests, does not become provoked. It does not keep account of the injury. It does not rejoice over unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”
In the same book it also says, “love builds up.”
That is what we pursue. True love, both given and received, raises us up above ourselves and benefits all around us.
Who wouldn’t be drawn to that?
Thanks, Cecily for sharing this. The Minister who presided over my daughter’s wedding read this scripture and mentioned it was a favorite of his. One of mine also.
I just watched a tv show that said a man is not much of a man without love.
Pretty sexist.
Just kidding. Kind of.
Without love there would be no hate!
Ok, not a good argument.
Why is love important. This should make us question what is love and if love is important.
What is love? To me it is trust, dependency, desire, closeness, family. Probably a few other things I’m forgetting.
Is love important? Without love I’d personally be very lonely. I’d lose direction in my life. I would need to be all the things I need from the people who love me – which even then means I would need to love myself.
So why is love important?
Because sharing my life with people I love gives meaning to everything!
Happy Vday everyone 🙂
Love is important because it solidifies the creation of an “Us” where once there were simply two individuals. While the two remain individuals, they’ve formed a unique relationship built on affection and attraction, time and trust.
At times love’s expression is simple: a shared appreciation, a wink, a nod, a hug, or a kiss. At other times it is complex, wrapped up in a history — sometimes solely in relation to each other, sometimes in how the Us braves society and the world together.
Love amplifies the good because we can share our experiences in a deeply meaningful way — in the now and in the future. Love also reduces the pain of hard times because we have someone to lean on, someone to help us process.
Love, in my opinion, is a very big part of what makes life worth living.
I am grateful for my love, Rebecca, being all that I have said above and more.
For me love is so important because, “love makes the world go round.” In other words, God is love, and, by definition, nothing or no one is more important.
Love is important because we cannot do without love. The shooter in Parkland Florida demonstrates what happens when a person is without love. I’m no psychiatrist, but my gut tells me that the Beatles had it right, “All you need is love.” I know this sounds trite, but sometimes life isn’t as complicated as we think. So “Put a little love in your life.”
Makes me wonder, what kind of music, if any, the shooter was listening to.
I think the feelings of love and the desire to find and keep love in your life is an instinctive, basic need. It’s universal, so possibly holds an evolutionary role, like bonding parents to their babies so they will care for and keep their babies alive despite how difficult it is to have and raise them. It binds children to their parents so the children will listen to and obey their parents, increasing their chances for survival. It binds adults together, allowing them to help and care for each other, increasing their chances for survival. It is the emotional aspect of altruism, which is the drive to help extended family members and strangers, increasing their chances for survival. It keeps families and civilizations afloat.
Hi Lee! From Karen and Sadie
As a single mother of a single son and in adoption with special needs, he nor I will likely ever be but alone. We are likeliest to remain on the Solo. It’s what was, is n likely to be and remain. Why? We keep on doing what we’re used to doing. Going how going. N we are Okay.