Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site pucc-h Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!whuxlm!whuxl!houxm!ihnp4!inuxc!pur-ee!CS-Mordred!Pucc-H:aeq From: aeq@pucc-h (Jeff Sargent) Newsgroups: net.singles Subject: Re: The end of it Message-ID: <1625@pucc-h> Date: Fri, 28-Dec-84 08:59:27 EST Article-I.D.: pucc-h.1625 Posted: Fri Dec 28 08:59:27 1984 Date-Received: Sun, 30-Dec-84 00:44:50 EST References: <127@decwrl.UUCP>, <1839@sun.uucp> <1554@pucc-h>, <1881@sun.uucp> <1590@pucc-h>, <52@rti-sel.UUCP> Organization: my terminal Lines: 32 From Randy Buckland (rti-sel!rcb): > The essence of the emotion known as "love" as I see it is a caring for > and a desire to help another person. It is not impossible for someone to > love you even though you have problems. It is more probable that someone > will love you for other reasons and will have a desire to help with those > problems you do have. But this implies that there are desireable aspects > of you personality as well as the undesireable (i.e. the problems). > Of course, if all you do is whine about your problems, I can understand > that no one finds you desireable. Oh well, I've got my own problems to > deal with (and people who care enough to help me). That's all. There is some truth to this. Certainly I have been loved when I had much bigger problems than I have now. And certainly there are desirable aspects about my personality. But I look at love from the standpoint of one friend of mine who has known me for 9 years, and who says that when she first knew me, she loved me even though she didn't like me much. This ties in with the definition of love that I posted some time back, which began, "Love is not being attracted to the good in another person; love is giving *to* another person from one's own store of good" -- i.e. that love means giving to someone even if you can't stand them. Jesus asks us to love our enemies, and if I can't do that (yet), how can I deserve any favor or acceptance? (Christians reading this, don't bother telling me that God accepts me as I am; He agrees not to throw me out, but I question whether He likes me and will say "well done" given that I am not much like Christ and do not act much like Him. Acceptance is given, but praise and liking must be earned. Anyone [especially from the Christian community] wish to address this point?) -- -- Jeff Sargent {decvax|harpo|ihnp4|inuxc|ucbvax}!pur-ee!pucc-h:aeq Proud owner of two Control Data doorstops.