This is Valentine’s week. The week of love. Flowers, chocolates, hearts, and fancy dinners. We talk a lot about love this time of year in our society, but do we know what love is? A few weeks ago, I preached on the famous love text found in I Corinthians.

It reads:

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels but do not have 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 do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

“Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now, we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then, we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

” And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

Every time I read this scripture I am reminded of how often we get it wrong when it comes to love. I am reminded how often we get it wrong in how we treat people.

Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love God and to love our neighbor. WOW! This is the greatest and most important task of a Christian — to love people as defined by the life of Jesus and by I Corinthians.

Some might even say that when we don’t love our neighbor in this way, we might need to consider our love for God. How can we hate people, mistreat people, and then say we love God? If we live in a way that is the opposite of this definition, do we really love God?

Are we being patient and kind? Are we being proud and boastful? Are we self-seeking and easily angered? Are we delighting in evil? Do we keep a record of wrongs?

How might you answer these questions if they were asked of you?

We might even go a step further and consider how people across our country who call themselves Christians stand up to this definition. What about our government officials? What about our President?

Sometimes, we see a definition of love and a life lived exemplified by Jesus, and we say, “Yes, indeed, we should love our neighbor this way, but who is our neighbor?” We then pick and choose and redefine neighbor.

We have an entire Presidential administration and his followers who are currently doing this. We have an entire segment of our population doing this. Saying they are Christians and then deciding who is and who isn’t our neighbor.

As we vilify and scapegoat our immigrant brothers and sisters, we are guilty of this. As we push aside and continue to discriminate against people of color, we are guilty of this. As we push aside and discriminate against LBTQIA+ people, we are guilty of this. As we dismantle programs that help bring diversity, equity, and inclusion to our places of work, we are guilty of this. As we cancel programs that feed people in need, care for children, provide healthcare, education and hope for millions, we are guilty of this.

We have certainly become guilty of not loving our neighbor and in doing so we show the truth about our love for God.

This lack of love and this redefining of neighbor begins with each of us. We can point to the Whitehouse or at others and it’s clear that something is wrong, but we also need to look inside. It begins with me and it begins with you.

It is clear that we as individuals and as a people need a change of heart and we need to once again allow Jesus to lead and guide us in the way of love.

Spend some time this week and consider if you are truly loving the Jesus way. Do your actions, your thoughts, how you vote, spend, and live reflect a love lived out by Jesus and defined by Corinthians or does it reflect a political party, racial stereotypes, an anti-immigrant attitude, homophobic/transphobic attitudes, and a lack of care for those Jesus cared about most?

It starts with you. It starts with me. It starts with saying Jesus forgive me. It starts with confession and prayer. It starts with a new commitment to live in the true way of Jesus’ love.