In Western culture we speak of love every day. We love our family, we love our house, we love McDonald’s, Chick-Fil-A, Taco Bell, or Subway. We love a good ball game and especially our favorite team. I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said, “I ♥ My Pastor.” The Bible speaks of different focal points of our affection (love). Jesus said the two greatest commands are about love; Love God with all you are (the Shema of Deut 6:1-9) and to love others like you love you (cf. Matt 22:36 – 40). Those are positive directions of love, however, I also found a list of ten (10) focal points of love that we should avoid.
- Love of money – 1 Tim 6:10
- Love of self – 2 Tim 3:2
- Love of worldly pleasure – 2 Tim 3:4
- Love of leadership (power) – 3 Joh 9
- Love the world – 2 Tim 4:10 (1 Joh 2:15-17)
- Love of darkness (sin) – Joh 3:19
- Love of praise (to self) – Joh 12:42-43
- Love of gain from wrong doing – 2 Pe 2:15
- Love of chief seats – Luk 11:43
- Love of titles – Luk 20:46
Remember to “set your affections on things above, not on things of the earth” (Col 3:2).
– Scott
Driving Thought 