Love: Guided By Knowledge

"And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so you may approve what what is excellent, and be so pure and blameless for the day of Christ."--Philippians 1:9-10

I've always loved Paul's letter to the Philippians.  Some of my favorite passages come from this book. The other day I was looking at different books by NT Wright on Amazon, and saw that a bunch of his study guides in the "New Testament For Everyone" series were between six and eight dollars for the Kindle app.  I bought the one for Philippians and found myself immediately rewarded with the first lesson.

Saint Paul is writing to the church in Philippi from a prison in Rome.  The Philippians had sent him a monetary gift to help out.  According to Wright, being in a Roman prison didn't always equate to being fed everyday, and the money sent to Paul helped care for his expenses.  The passage cited above comes near the end of Paul's salutation to open the letter.

Wright asks the question in the study guide: "How does Paul's idea of love filled with knowledge and wisdom contrast with other popular ideas of love?"  I spent some time thinking about the question and the result was very interesting and useful to me.  Perhaps it will be to you as well.

So what is the popular idea of love?  Think of what happens in most of your "love stories."  How about Romeo and Juliet?  Strictly speaking this story is a tragedy, but Taylor Swift will continue to sing about it being a love story, and it certainly incorporates a popular understanding of love.  In the story of course, Romeo and Juliet are driven by their passion for each other, their overwhelming feeling for each other.  This of course is frowned upon by their families, and well, we all know how it ends, even if Taylor Swift doesn't acknowledge it in her song.

The idea of love presented there is a love that is purely fueled by passion and emotion.  Now passion and emotion can be wonderful things, for sure!  Think about it though.  Passion and emotion, unchecked, can have destructive consequences.  To be purely governed by passion is often to act on impulse.  Sometimes this is good, spontaneous actions can be wonderful, but as we might perhaps see from the story, they can have tragic ends as well.

Paul has a different desire for the Philippians, and as we shall see, his advice isn't just for "love" exhibited in interpersonal relationships.  He wants the love of the Philippian church to "abound more and more with knowledge and discernment."  This is often viewed as the exact opposite of passion and emotion.  Perhaps it's a way of saying "use your head as well as your heart."

One could read this passage very narrowly.  Many fundamentalist or overly conservative Christians will default to a reading that suggests issues with perceived sexual purity.  That's probably a part of it. A sexual relationship fueled purely by passion and emotion can indeed be tragic.  Forget about an unwanted pregnancy or the legalistic thought of a "sin" being committed.  For many people, sex is not purely a physical act.  There are emotions caught up in it.  When things go south, a sexual relationship can lead to hurt feelings, feelings of rejection, and feelings that a person was "used."

However, despite what Sigmund Freud and fundamentalist Christians may think: not everything is about sex.  I'm not sure that's totally what Paul has in mind here either.  Love is much bigger than interpersonal relationships and sex.  Love is a way of life.  It's a way we treat all other people around us.  It's the way Jesus treated people.  It's that kind of love that Paul wants to "abound more and more with knowledge and discernment."

Love guided by knowledge treats others with respect.  Love guided by knowledge treats a person that might be down on their luck as fellow human being and child of God, not as someone who should be looked down on or be a pawn in some game of political ideology.  Love guided by knowledge is a love that forgives.  It doesn't hold grudges against others for past wrongs, real or perceived.  Love guided by knowledge is love that seeks to serve others instead of one's self.  Love guided by knowledge seeks to make the world a better place, a place of equality and friendship as opposed to a place of rivalry and judgement.

The model of love guided by knowledge is of course Jesus.  He knew what was going on in the lives of the people around him and sought to be a servant as opposed to a master, a shoulder to cry on as opposed to a voice of judgement.  That is the same love into which we are all called.  The example of Christ is not always easy to follow, but it is certainly rewarding.  There is no greater joy than loving, serving, and helping others, and in the end these are things that last in a world so often drowning in passion and emotion.