LOVE

Posted on October 31, 2009 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.

The “Law of Love” is the greatest of all the Laws which govern our lives.

There is a compelling set of verses in Scripture which reflect the underlying importance of expressing love in everything we do:

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Rick Warren, author of “The Purpose Driven Life”, writes that these verses teach

five

fundamental truths about living a successful and significant life.  Rick writes that if we fail to actively love others: Nothing we say will matter – Nothing we know will ultimately matter – Nothing we believe will ultimately matter – Nothing we give will matter – And nothing we accomplish in life will ultimately matter.  For without love, our words are just noise, our knowledge is flawed, our beliefs are superficial, our gifts are selfishly motivated, and our accomplishments are (at best) only of temporary value.

Do not fool yourself, the only way you can live a life of lasting significance and meaning is when your work, relationships, and even your dreams are all founded on a sincere love for yourself and for those around you. 

Mother Teresa said, “The greatest science in the world; in heaven and on earth; is love.”  And through her many years of serving the poor and needy, she noted “There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread.”

Brian Tracy writes, “Always, love is the answer.  The only thing that you can never have enough of is love.  You can never have too much love for yourself, and you can never give too much love to others.  Lack of love, or love withheld, lies at the root of most personal and behavioral problems.  Love is not only the answer, but it is the cure for most of life’s problems.”

The supreme law that should govern your leadership is the “Law of Love”; for life is ultimately about love, and true

success

is ultimately based on love.  Make no mistake about it, you will find that the accomplishment of a dream will leave you deeply unsatisfied if it was not founded upon, and reached in a manner which reflected a sincere love and concern for others along the way.  If you truly want to be successful in everything you do, if you want the accomplishment of your dreams to leave a positive and lasting legacy of who you were, then study, practice, and become an expert in the art of loving God, yourself, and those around you.

Therefore, since life is ultimately about love, the ultimate work in life is to learn how to love others more deeply and consistently.  I have found that the best way to grow in my ability to love others is to first realize that love is a choice, not a feeling.  Love is something we do, not something we always feel.  Second, I have found that my ability to love others will start to grow as I simply start to share it with others.  Remember, love is an act of the will, and as you continue to express love to those around you, you will begin to see your capacity to love grow stronger until it starts to impact ever larger circles of people around you.