Month: February 2023

This past Tuesday was Valentine’s Day.  People seem to have strong opinions about Valentine’s Day.  The skeptics think that it’s not a real holiday, just one made up by the greeting card companies.  And the romantics think that it is an opportunity to demonstrate all their feelings on a grand scale.  Most of us, however, are somewhere in the middle. 

The history of the holiday is rather vague, but here are some things I read about it.  There were at least three Roman Catholic “saints” named Valentine, who are credited as the namesake for the day.  All of which were martyred.  One of the legends says that a Bishop Valentine was imprisoned for helping Christians escape from Rome under the rule of Emperor Claudius II.  While in prison, Valentine fell in love with a young woman who visited him during his confinement.  It is said that right before his death, he sent her a letter and signed it, “from your Valentine”.  And so, Valentine’s Day was established to commemorate his martyrdom.

Another idea is that the Roman Catholic church instituted “Saint Valentine’s Day” to oppose the pagan holiday, Lupercalia, which was a fertility festival celebrating Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, and Romulus and Remus, the “founders” of Rome.  This was celebrated each year on February 15.  At the end of the fifth century, Pope Gelasius officially declared February 14 as, “Saint Valentine’s Day”. 

During the Middle Ages, it was a commonly held belief that February 14 was the beginning of the mating season for birds, which led to the romantic connotation being associated with the day.  In 1375, the English poet, Geoffrey Chaucer recorded Valentine’s Day as a romantic celebration. 

Valentine’s greetings began to be exchanged in the early 1400’s among the British and French royalty. And by the 17^th century, the day had become popularly celebrated.  Around the middle of the 18^th century, it had become commonplace for friends and lovers to exchange tokens of affection or handwritten sentiments on Valentine’s Day. 

In the 1840’s Esther A. Howland began selling the first mass-produced valentines in America.  “And the rest as they say, is history.”  Today, Valentine’s Day is second only to Christmas in the number of cards exchanged. 

We may have mixed emotions regarding Valentine’s Day because of our experiences.  Perhaps for some it is a beautiful celebration of a loving relationship.  But maybe for others it’s a painful reminder of a broken heart.  Quite possibly it is some of both for most of us. 

When I was young, we celebrated the day in elementary school every year.  We made our own valentine mailboxes and decorated them as elaborately as we could.  We brought them to school and set them on our desks to receive cards from all our classmates.  We had a party with treats like homemade cupcakes or cookies and milk from the cafeteria.  We played games and had fun.  It promoted comradery and friendships in the classroom. 

However, there was the risk of hurt feelings.  Maybe that one special boy that you liked purposely didn’t put a card in your mailbox.  Or someone called your valentine mailbox “ugly”.  But isn’t that true of most things in life?   There is always a risk of hurt when feelings are involved. 

So, some boy in 4^th grade broke your heart on Valentine’s Day.  If that scarred you for life, then you must still have a 4^th grade heart.  Perhaps you should strive for a more age-appropriate heart??  Also consider; if we had never experienced a broken heart, how would we learn what it takes to recover from one?  And more importantly, how would we learn not to break someone else’s heart?  All the ups and downs, hurts and healings, good and bad of youth, help teach us how to become who we want to be as adults, and how to avoid being who we don’t want to be. 

Maybe you had a broken heart as an adult.  Did you recover from it?  Then you can help someone who has a broken heart now.  Do you have a broken heart now?  Seek someone who has been where you are, for they probably can help you heal.  A broken heart can be a ‘lemons into lemonade’ type of situation. 

I don’t mean to oversimplify a broken heart.  I know it can be a devastating blow.  A callous betrayal, a cruel conflict, a losing battle can pierce us to our very soul.  But with God’s help, even the most shattered heart can be put back together. 

Jeremiah 32:27

Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

This is one of my favorite verses.  Is there anything too hard for the Creator of the heavens and the earth – the God of all flesh??  He made everything including us.  Don’t you think He knows how to take care of everything, including us? 

Do you remember the scripture that says, “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35)?  He cried because he saw the pain that Mary and Martha were experiencing because of the death of their brother, Lazarus.  And his heart was hurting also because Lazarus was his friend.  That was definitely a heart-breaking event.  Think of how his heart must have been utterly crushed by Judas’ betrayal.  Jesus was acquainted with the pain of a broken heart. 

We all probably know that “by his stripes we were healed” is the promise of physical healing.  We also know that Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection paid the price for our redemption.  But do we expect that we can be released from our emotional pains?  Well, we can.  Jesus Christ was and is our COMPLETE savior.  He felt all our pains and paid the price for them ALL.  So, if Valentine’s Day makes you sad, you can change that by casting that sadness to God and accepting your heart’s healing that Jesus Christ made available. 

Now, if Valentine’s Day makes you happy – hooray!  Enjoy!  Take the opportunity to show someone how much you love them.  Send cards, get flowers, eat chocolates.  Demonstrate your feelings.  Take advantage of what the day provides.  Why not?  And if you are the recipient of such demonstrations, be grateful.

If Valentine’s Day is just another day in your book, that’s ok.  There is no obligation to recognize this tradition.  It’s a personal choice.  But I will say that anytime we can bless someone by showing them a kindness or letting them know that they are loved is a worthwhile endeavor.  So, if you choose to do that on Valentine’s Day, it can’t be a bad thing!  I might even go so far as to say, why not make every day Valentine’s Day?  We don’t need to limit our appreciation of others to one day a year.  And we don’t need to confine our admiration to the giving of a heart-shaped box of chocolates.  Let’s seek opportunities to help and bless whoever we can, whenever we can.  Let’s be the beacons of God’s love every day, all year! 

Note to my readers:  I hope your Valentine’s Day was a happy one.  Actually, I hope all your days are happy ones!  Surely love you and thank God for you!  Thanks for reading.

I recently saw a video that a young woman posted online about the horrors of having a job.  Restraining tears, she ranted about the inhuman treatment that people expected her to endure because she had to get up at the crack of dawn to go to a workplace that was cold and had fluorescent lighting, and not only that; she had to spend eight whole hours of her day in that tortuous environment.  Furthermore, she was expected to do this FIVE times a week!  “Oh, the humanity!”  

We might laugh at the absurdity of this video; but what if this is not an uncommon way of thinking for young people?  Has the latest generation gotten so weak and lazy that they can’t imagine even a 40-hour work week in an office?  My generation is scratching its head.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that my generation had it so hard.  We missed the Great Depression and World War that our parents endured.  But we do know how to work! 

In July of 1945, (which was before my time, by the way) a military aircraft hit the Empire State Building in New York City.  A very foggy Saturday morning is blamed for the accident.  The plane hit the building around the 79^th floor.  Upon impact, the plane’s fuel exploded and several parts of the aircraft, including the engines, were strewn through the building and into nearby structures.  Fourteen people were killed. 

I read an account of that event written by one of workers who was in the building that morning on a lower floor.  Since it was a Saturday, there were fewer people than normal in the building, but there were still quite a few people working.  She recounted her fright and the confusion surrounding the event.  While down on the sidewalk after being evacuated, she saw her boss who had come to check out the situation.  She assured him that his staff was accounted for and safe, and he reminded her that they would have to make up their lost hours. 

That seems rather harsh to me, but it wasn’t out of the ordinary at that time. Can you image that in this day and time?  I can hear it now… “A SIX-day work week?  Are you kidding me?”  Or “Make up my time?  That’s inhuman! You’ll be hearing from my attorney!”   My, how much attitudes have changed over the years!

Now, I think the balance lies somewhere between the two examples.  It seems unreasonable to require someone to make up their time lost due to an airplane hitting their place of employment.  But ranting on the internet about being expected to work 40 hours a week – seriously??  All of this got me thinking – why do we work? 

If I did a survey, probably most people’s answer to the question would be, “To make money”.  We all understand that.  Our society is based on a monetary system.  For the most part, we no longer barter, nor are we independently self-sufficient.  So, we need to work to make money in order to function in society. However, this system has a major flaw – GREED. 

Money itself is not inherently bad, but the Bible is clear that the love of money is.  Whenever money is involved, the temptation to love it is there and people can become greedy.  Of course, there is nothing wrong with working hard and earning a good living.  I have the utmost respect for those who do that when their heart is in the right place.  But working solely to amass great wealth is loving money and the Bible calls that “the root of all evil”.  And doesn’t that seem so prevalent in our society today?  Think about this also.  Isn’t expecting to be rich without doing any work also a form of loving money?  Both attitudes are completely selfish. 

If gaining money were the ONLY reason to work, then money would be the principal thing and God wouldn’t admonish us not to love it.  But the Bible does warn us not to fall into that trap.  God’s Word encourages us that whatever work we do, we should do it heartily as unto the Lord. (Colossians 3:23)  So that tells me that the Lord must be the principal thing – NOT money.

And indeed, the Lord is the principal thing in our lives.  When we look to God as our sufficiency, He takes care of our needs.  He provides the increase.  When we recognize Him in all that we do, He will open the windows of heaven and pour blessings upon us.  (Malachi 3:10)  If we put our trust in money, we will never have enough. 

Work is more than just our employment.  Yes, we have jobs to provide the money we need to function in society, but our jobs are merely a means to an end.  We certainly can have profitable careers, God wants us to prosper and be successful, but our reason to work is so much greater than that. 

God designed us to work.  Even Adam and Eve worked in the Garden of Eden.  Working keeps our bodies strong and our minds sharp.  Accomplishing a goal takes work.  Taking care of yourself and your surroundings takes work.  Raising a family takes work (and a lot of it).  Even loving someone takes work.  And a job well done is a very satisfying and fulfilling experience that cannot be attained without work. 

Matthew 6:33

 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

The context of this verse talks about things we need in life, like food, drink and clothing.  And this verse declares that God will supply all those things when we seek Him first.  So, can we seek God first in our jobs?  Absolutely!  Can we keep Him first in our careers?  For sure.  We can seek God first in anything that we do.  And bear in mind that seeking is also work.  It is actively pursuing something, which takes effort and focus.  Seeking God should be our priority.

When we keep God first in our lives, all the facets of life fall into their proper order.  That includes our jobs, and every other kind of work we need to do.  Need to do yardwork?  Do it heartily as unto the Lord.  What about school?  Housework?  Relationships?  Do them all heartily as unto the Lord and God will bless your efforts.

1 Corinthians 15:58 says, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

So why do we work?  Because our labor is not in vain in the Lord.  The most profitable work we can do is the work of the Lord.  That means that if we put forth the effort to seek God first in all that we do, He will provide whatever we need to be able to do whatever needs done.  And we can be wildly successful in everything we do (including our jobs/careers) because our God is that big and He loves us that much. 

Note to my readers:  This is my 100^th post.  Can you believe it??  Thanks for reading.