Thought of the Day 04.15.09

Is it always enjoyable to be loved?

At first glance, this seems like an absurdly easy question to answer. Since nothing is more enjoyable than being loved, obviously all expressions of love should be enjoyable, right?

But not so fast. Am I expressing love when I spank my children? Am I expressing love when I tell them they may not have cookies instead of spaghetti? When I correct their grammar? Yes to all, right? But do they enjoy these clear indicators of love? Not so much.

Furthermore, when I exhaust myself carrying my boys around the zoo, they don’t likely appreciate it any more than if I had actually remembered to bring the stroller. But the love shown was far greater because of the sacrifice it endured.

So expressed love is sometimes enjoyable, sometimes painful, and sometimes just intellectually comprehensible. If so, then it’s pretty easy to understand why we occasionally misinterpret the loving actions of other people, and possibly even of God.
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2 comments:

Jason Arant said...

This question has a lot of cultural implications. Maybe spanking isn't about showing love as much as it is about asserting authority and correction. Love is shown at some level (assuming the parent is not a sadistic brute) but at our house showing love is farther down the list of what we are primarily trying to illustrate to our children.

April 14, 2009 at 5:26 PM
Andrew Tallman said...

But even there, though you aren't trying to "show love" so much, you are clearly motivated by love of your children and the knowledge that they need or will benefit from learning about authority, etc.

April 14, 2009 at 5:43 PM

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