Selfish Love

What many think of as love is really just a form of selfishness -- not pure love.

It can be identified by thinking like this: I love you because of the way you make me feel. I love you because of what you do for me. I love you because of how you make me look. I love you because of what I can get from you.

True love is instead marked by thinking like this: I love you because you are valuable and precious. I love you because I want the best for you.

I am not saying that "selfish love" is evil, only that it is not pure love. It is not the highest form of love. It is immature, like a baby would love his mother. We are supposed to grow past this kind of love to experience true, pure love -- which is completely unselfish. It seeks the best for the other person, not because of what they can do for you, but because of what you can do for them, because they are valuable and precious to God.

JOHN 15:13 GWN 13 The greatest love you can show is to give your life for your friends.

A human giving their life to the point of death has to be completely unselfish. It cannot be motivated by any benefit they would receive. So the more unselfish love is, the greater, purer, and more mature it is.

ROMANS 5:8 GWN 8 Christ died for us while we were still sinners. This demonstrates God's love for us.

SAY THIS: Lord help me to grow past selfish love to show others pure love, just like You do.