Love is Just a Game

     Love is just a gaaaaaame.....  Can you hear it now?  If you were around in the late 70's to early 80's you know what I'm talking about.  There was a time, I admit, that I listened to country music.  And Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers just happened to be one of my favorites back then. 
    But is love really just a game?  I don't think so.  In fact I know it's not.  God created love.  God IS love.  Love is patient and kind.  It's not jealous or conceited or proud.  It's not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable.  Love keeps no record of wrongs.  Love is not happy with evil but is happy with the truth.  And Love never gives up no matter what.
     I will be the first to admit I can be very competitive.  I want to win.  Always.  But I've learned that, thinking of a person as a prize is just not right.  And it's definitely not love.  It's not a game.  At all.
     When God created man He realized man needed a helper.  Another person to spend time with.  To work with.  To love.  So He created woman.  And He created marriage.  Marriage between one man and one woman was His plan.  Covenant.  Yeah, that was and is God's idea.
     Not only is marriage a good thing God created between one man and one woman, it's also the way He describes His love for us.  Jesus is the groom.  The church is the bride.  The groom loves the bride so much that He gave His very life for her.  And the bride has an attitude of respect and obedience for her Groom.
     How could we think that love is just a game when God takes it so seriously?  There is no escape clause from love and marriage.  God commands us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  Can you image what life would be like if people actually did that?
     He also commands that a man love his wife and a wife respect her husband. (Ephesians 5)  Not always easy.  But always worth it.  And because marriage was created by God, endorsed by God, and the very beginning  of another creation of God....the family....the devil doesn't like it.  So many people give up.  They throw in the towel.  But there really isn't an escape clause as so many believe.  Once you're married, you're married for life.  Matthew 19:6 is Jesus speaking and He says "So they are no longer two, but one.  No human being must separate, then, what God has joined together."  Marriage is sacred.
     So, because marriage and family is so important to God, it's important to the devil to destroy it.  And life is hard. Sometimes bad things happen and life feels absolutely impossible.  But what is impossible with humans is more than possible with God. There is absolutely nothing that is impossible with God.
    Is love a game?  To the devil it is.  He seeks to destroy marriages and families.  He wants us to become bitter.  It's his goal to destroy every family.  Especially families he knows God has special plans for.  But here's the deal.  To God, marriage and family is serious business.  Love is serious business.  And anyone who seeks to destroy it goes up against our Almighty God.  No argument or trying to reason away does any good.  If it's contrary to the Word, it's sin and straight from the devil.  God is always right.  And He doesn't take kindly to anyone who tries to declare something right that is not only wrong but against His Word.
     So where do you find yourself today?  Have you made mistakes?  Have you treated love like a game and people like prizes?  People aren't prizes.  And that's not love.   If we are treating someone like a prize, we don't really love them.
     Who do you love?  Do you really want what's best for them? Love encourages others to live for the Lord. Love  encourages them to read the Word.  The Word tells us in Proverbs 10:29 that "The Lord protects honest people, but destroys those who do wrong."  I don't want to be destroyed.  I don't want you to be destroyed.  Trust Him today and know true love.  And remember that love is not just a game.  The only way to win is according to God's Word.  Will you start doing that today?