“The one who loves least controls the relationship.” I can’t remember who said this; I think it was a former pastor. However, this saying has always resonated as one of the most truthful statements I’ve heard about relationship dynamics. It’s a challenging thing to recognize because sometimes we spend so much time trying to convince the other person how much we love them that we don’t realize they stopped loving us a long time ago. More importantly, we justify doing some inappropriate things to hold onto them because of “love” without realizing that if we really loved that person or thing, we would let them go. For example, I was talking to a friend about the stress that one family member in particular had put on their siblings regarding the long-term terminal illness of their youngest sibling. All of the other siblings agreed about what to do concerning the family member who was put on hospice…except this one. She insisted that the sister who was dying remain on life support for the reason that she loved her sister too much to see her die. Despite the fact that the dying sister’s sons cried every time they had to visit their mother and see her hooked up to machines, this one sibling accused the others of not loving their sister and wanting to kill her. When asked repeatedly by the other siblings why she was acting that way, the sister simply stated, “Because I must love her more than you do.” It was clear to everyone, including doctors, the “loving” sibling who insisted on keeping the other sister alive had selfish motives that had nothing to do with loving her sister more than the others. In fact, one doctor offered that if she really loved her sister, she would not want her to suffer anymore. It took a lot of persuasion, but the “loving” sibling was eventually convinced to relinquish the medical power of attorney so that the wishes of her sister’s adult children would prevail. A few short days later, the woman, who had suffered with brain cancer for 5 years, was able to peacefully transition. Watching these events from the outside made me think about how often the one who claims boldly, “I love you” “I love the USA” “I love my church” the most is often the one who really loves the least. Often what they really love is being able to cause chaos as well selfishly manipulate and control others. I Corinthians 13:4-8 speaks about all of the characteristics of love. When you study this amazing scriptural passage, you see how powerful love is not just because of how it transforms the object of love by how it transforms the one who loves. Loving the most means that you love with the love of God seeking to show compassion and grace to all.
Preserved by Purpose: Loving the Most
