Languages of Earth and of Angels

Eros Love

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Bible Verse of the Day: 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

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THOUGHTS FROM TODAY’S SCRIPTURES:

In 1 Corinthians 13 we find one of the most quoted sections of scripture—a beautiful description of love. But to get the complete picture, we need to understand the background of the people who were reading this.

In Corinthian culture, sex and love were often viewed as inseparable. If you grew up in this culture you were exposed to all types of belief systems and all kinds of religions and spirituality, especially the pantheon of Roman gods. The biggest and most obvious of all, though, was Aphrodite— her temple was the most prominent religious fixture in the city sitting atop the acropolis, some 1500 feet above the city.

No matter where you were in Corinth you could see the temple of Aphrodite. Aphrodite was the goddess of love, but what kind of love? She was the goddess of eros love, or erotic love. In other words, she was the goddess of sex. Every evening around 1,000 priestesses or temple prostitutes would walk down from Aphrodite’s temple to the town of Corinth to offer their services to the residents—to help them in their “worship experience.”

If you lived in Corinthian culture 2000 years ago you would naturally assume that if you want to experience love the best way is through sex. Sound like any other culture you know?

Here is the big problem with focusing on eros love. It’s about whatever makes me feel good. There is nothing evil in itself about eros love—God designed us to be physically attracted to the opposite sex, He placed in us a sex drive. Chemistry and passion are important parts of a relationship, but by itself, eros love does not provide a solid foundation for a long-term love relationship.

If you look to eros love for long-term satisfaction you may find yourself jumping from one relationship to another, continuously facing relational burnout, or see your approach to love becoming more and more about self-gratification.

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What role does eros love play in your marriage or relationships with the opposite sex? How can you move away from self-gratifying love toward self-sacrificing love?