This issue cannot be overstated. Our theme for this year's winter retreat was "Live Love," as we examined what living the Christian life is supposed to look like. We discovered, both in John's gospel and in his first letter, that the life of a Christian should be marked by love. As John says,
"Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling (I John 2:9-10). "
"By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother (3:10)."
"We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death (3:14)."
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loves us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us (4:7-12)."
Succinctly, John summarizes the biblical definition of love in 1 John 3:16-18: "By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees His brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth."
In deed (action) and in truth. That is how the biblical authors presented love. We took time while in Gatlinburg to contrast this definition of love with the contemporary definition of love, primarily with how love is presented in the hip-hop culture. In modern hip-hop music/lyrics, love is presented as emotions, feelings, romance, and sex, with no reference to commitment or sacrifice. In one of his songs Lil' Wayne, this year's premier hip-hop artist, tells a girl that he "loves" that she better not get too comfortable in their relationship, and that if she stops doing what he wants he'll kick her out and find another woman to "love." So much for sacrifice. So much for truth.
I strongly encouraged the students to critically evaluate their music's message, and the story below explains why:
"Listening to music with degrading sexual lyrics could prompt teenagers to start having sex at an earlier age, a US study suggests.
Researchers from Pittsburgh University quizzed 711 teenagers about their sex lives and music listening habits.
They found those who regularly listened to music with explicit and aggressive sexual phrases were twice as likely to be having sex."
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