The aptly named “Elephant Love Song” from Moulin Rouge has much to say about love. In it, Ewan McGregor croons lyrics from some of the most cliché love songs of all time. His first are, “Love is a many splendored thing; love lifts us up where we belong. All you need is love!” The song elevates into a truly epic ode to this thing called love. Or does it? You see, while McGregor is singing, the woman of his affection, played by Nicole Kidman, is offering her own take. At one point, she replies, “There’s no way of loving me, baby, unless you pay a lovely fee.” Not to be deterred, the powerfully sung reply is, “Just one night! Give me just one night!” If you haven’t heard the song, stop reading and give it a listen. I’ll wait.
In my opinion, this song, which is meant to be a climactic coming-together of two hearts, shows best what every Christian must know: the world knows nothing of love. I say must know not because the fact is too obvious (for certainly many are living as if they’ve missed it completely); rather, I say must know because the cost of seeking the love of the world doesn’t bear thinking about. After all, 1 John 2:15-17 states, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”
It is vitally important that we do not miss two prominent words in that passage. The first is love and the second is lust. The Bible teaches that these two things are different. In Ben’s post from last week, he wrote truly that love is acted outwardly. Contrarily, lust is about what I can get for myself. If you were now to go back and read the lyrics to “Elephant Love Song,” the word love seems out of place. In the world, the word love is wielded like the weapon of a drunken knight. The appearance is chivalrous enough, but the reality is a letdown. The usage of love is haphazard, sloppy, and not at all worthy of its station.
Don’t get me wrong, the world knows love, but only by its own definition. Perhaps this is most easily seen when those in the world are decrying the intolerance of Christians who attempt to live out biblical morality. It is then that those who care nothing for Christ wield His love as a weapon against His followers. The battle cries are loud: “Jesus loves everyone,” or, “Jesus loves sinners but hates the sin!” To an extent, these things are both true. But they fail to capture the full picture of the love of Christ. The same Jesus that told the woman taken in adultery that He did not condemn her, also instructed her to discontinue her sin (John 8:11).
But the world claims that love is love and all loves are equally valid. Our society is quickly moving to erase gender, marriage, and even the family. The legalization of and widespread use of pornography has evolved into a push to legalize prostitution and sex work. Women are encouraged and applauded for killing their unborn children if it is in their best interest. Divorce is rampant, often simply because the marriage isn’t working out for one or both spouses. We are coached to chase our own happiness.
All these things are done in the name of love. “Only a truly intolerant bigot could fail to see that,” culture screams. But these are the results of people drunk on the phrase “love yourself,” and too blind to see that they are using the wrong “L word.” Love as the world sees it is nothing more than a slavish desire to the lust of the world and the flesh—to the pride inherent in our lives. But the Christian must know this is not the way of true love. A Christian must speak out. And what must he speak? Truth.
Ephesians 4:15 admonishes us to speak the truth in love. To speak the truth without love is mean-spirited. To love without truth is no love at all. First Peter 1:22 gives the same order. Peter says that since believers “have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, [see that ye] love one another with a pure heart fervently.” It is obedience to the truth that leads to love. It bears mentioning that this follows closely on the heels of his admonition to holiness (1:13-16).
An old song says, “they will know we are Christians by our love.” For this to be true, I submit that we must be people obedient to the truth. Any other kind of selfish love, or love that is afraid of confrontation, will appear just like the world. It is the gold standard of the day. People love one another so much that they ignore harmful behavior, destructive tendencies, and lifestyles not based in reality. But this is not love, and people know it. Remember the old slogan, “friends don’t let friends drive drunk?” True friendship, true love, speaks up for truth.
I close with one last verse. 1 John 3:18, “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.” Last week, Ben brought out that love finds its outlet in our deeds. Today, I pray that we hold fast to the truth. If we truly love, we must be willing to speak the truth. Speak it in love, of course. But speak it all the same. When Ewan McGregor sings, “love lifts us up where we belong,” I agree. But only a scriptural love does this. One that speaks the truth.
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