February celebrates Black History Month, National Caregivers Day, with famous birthdays such as Fredrick Douglas, Toni Morrison, Rosa Parks and Langston Hughes.
The most popular long-standing day is February 14, Valentine’s Day. February is widely known as the love month. People share expressions of love with family, friends, colleagues, and the community.
While contemplating February, I reflected on the various kinds of love – eros: love of the body; philia: affectionate love; agape: selfless love; ludus: playful love; pragma: long-lasting love; and philautia: love of self. Each one plays a significant role in our lives and impacts our relationships in society.
According to the Webster dictionary, “love is an intense feeling of deep affection and great interest and pleasure in something.” The Bible says: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, and it does not boast; it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).
With this proclamation, I conclude that love does not allow wrong to continue to be right. Our time is now to stop justifying, believing, solidifying, and plain old, yielding to inappropriate conduct and systems that compromise the quality of our unalienable rights.
Let our unity, rise, and love be enough to honor and emulate our ancestors’ grit and super passion for high-quality housing, healthcare, education, employment, and peace of mind. Allow the fortitude of our self-esteem and self-worth to galvanize the bold determination to overcome the evil injustices around the block in our back yards and worldwide. Love does not allow wrong to continue to be right.
Continuing to entrust our spiritual guidance, civic life, and social engagements to systems strategically managed by irresponsible, weak, and ruthless custodians sets us up literally and figuratively for failure. Do we care or realize how caught-up and disillusioned we become through deception, poor discernment, and distraction with what is right, wrong, or acceptable over time?
When we do, our self-care and humanity are compromised. It is imperative to admonish the endorsement of these systems because they do not serve our unalienable rights. We must become more accountable and prudent in conducting our life justice.
Our journey in this season needs greater unity as we dispel the ineffective notion to “go along, to get along.” Stepping on toes and calling out the injustices are noble acts and a part of the toolbox for active love-making because love does not allow wrong to continue to be right.
Do we realize repetitive negative attitudes, actions, and aspirations influence and perpetuate the trajectory of humanity when it is not in our best interest or the world’s good? We must come to our senses and guard ourselves by nurturing and respecting our self-esteem and self-worth.
Having faith and confidence in the love of God transforms us to embrace the power within and boldly continue to resist the social and economic injustices for ourselves and others. We must have self-love, power- up, and not fear the evils of the oppressor no matter who she/he/they are because love does not allow wrong to continue to be right.
Let us not allow our journeys to become fogged with people, places, and things positioned to maintain the status quo of the illegal acquisition of the spaces we involuntarily built over hundreds of years without compensation. We must be vigilant in accepting our charge by sharing our history, resounding our great legacies, and keeping the land and property for our future generations– that exemplify love for our neighbors as we should love ourselves.
According to Mathew 22:37-39 (CSB), “He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (CSB)
Keep the faith and go in love with the spirit of God’s power- love wins.
