“All You Need Is Love”

In 1967 the Beatles produced the song, “All You Need Is Love” which sparked large social movements all over the world – it’s still an iconic song today – many people use the song’s chorus as a slogan or phrase without knowing (or remembering) the phrase came from John Lennon – he initially wrote the lyric as a continuation of the idea he was trying to express in his 1965 song “The Word” (a song sometimes referred to as “the word love”) – Lennon was fascinated with slogans that impacted the masses – he was trying to capture the essence of songs like “We Shall Overcome” – the straight forward message from the song, “All You Need Is Love” was the ultimate anthem of the 1967 Summer of Love – many social movements that came after, and grew from the events of that summer.

 

So, what is love? Love is defined as an intense feeling of deep affection; a great interest and pleasure in someone or something.

 

Psychiatrist, psychologist, therapists, and counselors have tried for countless generations, spent billions of dollars, and invested in hundreds of thousands of individuals, couples, and families trying to understand, teach, and manage the mysteries of love.  

 

From a nonclinical everyday perspective, our ability to apply love to others has been hit and miss at best – if we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll admit we all struggle with loving the world around us – and if we’re ‘really’ honest, we’ll admit we often struggle with loving those closest to us (family & friends). 

 

Bla bla bla… What’s the point? I’m glad you asked – the basics of love, loving ourselves, loving others, and being loved is either the greatest emotion, action, or condition of all time…    …or, it’s the most abused emotion, action, or condition of all time – our role as human beings is to take great care with which side of this conundrum we fall into. 

 

Consider this, most religions acknowledge Godly love defined as selfless and sacrificial – Jesus said: “This is My commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.” Evangelicals profess “the love of Christ is an, “…endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding—this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God!”

 

Now, I’m a Christian and I take my beliefs seriously – but I also know the largest, best funded, most impactful organizations, and activities that promote ‘love’ are religious – it breaks my heart when many of those religious organizations are widely untrusted, feared, scorned… not because of their belief to love others is wrong, but because of their tainted applications of their beliefs is wrong. 

 

All of us know of many effective noteworthy churches doing great work loving, and sharing love to their communities – tragically, all of us also know just as many compromised churches leveraging politics, ungodly agendas, power, and self-serving motives – why have so many churches, and church leaders let the basic concept of love, a Godly love, a Christ like love become such an abused emotion and action? (Perhaps the ‘love’ of money, power, and influence?)

 

Don’t call me a heretic and burn me at the stake just yet – this rant is 100%, “if the shoe fits, wear it” – there are good churches doing good things out there – my beef is with the churches, and church leaders compromising their beliefs, grifting their followers, promoting political agendas – all the while serving themselves, oppressing others, and manipulating grifted resources. 

 

The sad conclusion: Some religions and religious leaders use “love” as an instrument (bait) with a covert hook attached.

 

Rev Benjamin Cremer noted, if love becomes conditional – if love is reduced to an evangelistic tool – if love becomes just another way of making people be more like a desired persona – then we’ve totally misunderstood the love of God. 

 

If the way you love your neighbor causes your neighbor to want to die or do harm to themselves, it is not love at all – it is cruel and evil. 

 

If all you need is love, it’s critical that the love we share is genuine, unconditional, and untainted – oddly enough, this is not my idea – this is a core concept of most religious organization’s initial beliefs – it’s hard to believe this is what we started from when we consider where we are today. 

 

Again, love is either the greatest emotion, action, or condition of all time… …or, it’s the most abused emotion, action, or condition of all time – what’s in your ‘love wallet’?