Whilst traveling some time ago with a friend, she asked me a question that was very pertinent to our foundation as children of God. She wondered why the celebration of St. Valentine's Day should be so wrong if some good can be gotten from it. She agreed that the foundation of the celebration is idolatrous but the Church was ‘smart’ to have hijacked it to promote the love of God. Her argument was we must not sit in judgment over the brethren or unbelievers; we must try to love the unbelievers, be like them so as to win them to Christ. After all, she continued, Christ visited and ate with sinners and Apostle Paul said he became all things to all men in order to win them to Christ! This is the position of so many in the Body of Christ. That is why we see so many programs organized around the period in order to ‘hijack’ the mood for God! As logical as the foregoing arguments may sound, it is not a true reflection of God’s Word:
- Firstly, the Bible is clear concerning a collapsed or destroyed foundation; the righteous is handicapped as to what to do. Such a building must be torn down or any structure built on the foundation will not last.
- Secondly, the Bible did not tell us to judge the world but we are to judge one another so as not to be judged with the world: “If we were properly evaluating ourselves, we would not be judged, but when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord, so that we may not be condemned with the world” (1 Corinthians 11:31-32). You cannot partake in a pagan festival, no matter how much you Christianize it and think you are free from its consequences: “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot share in the Lord’s Table and the table of demons. Or are we provoking the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He” (1 Corinthians 10:21-22)?
- Thirdly, we are not to conform to the world or its practices, but must live according to the pattern set for us by our Lord Jesus Christ. Imitating the world and its practices will not make unbelievers serve our God, rather it will reinforce and enable their faith in their faulty and idolatrous beliefs. Israel of old went into exile when they failed to live according to the standards of God, and chose to imitate the surrounding nations in their way of living (2 Kings 17).
We were not called to imitate the world, but to be a shining light, a beacon of hope for a lost and dark world. How would the world be saved and come into our light when we are adopting, as a Church, the same systems that are crippling it? It is true that Apostle Paul was everything to the people he met in order to win them to Christ; he did it within the law or commands of Christ: “To those who outside the law, like one outside the law – not being outside God’s law, but under the law of Christ- to win those outside the law” (1 Corinthians 9:21). In other words, he did not become a sinner to win sinners. We are to love the people but not the sin! The fact that you minister to drunkards and prostitutes does not mean you have to be one yourself; what we are to do is to show empathy for them just as Christ did for the tax collectors and prostitutes!It is true that Valentine's Day celebration has often been heralded as a day set aside to celebrate ‘God's Love’ by the Church, but nothing could be further from the truth. It is a celebration founded on, steeped in flesh, and produces fleshly works; such celebration cannot please God no matter how much we try to dress it in Christian garbs: “So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him” (Romans 8:8, AMP). For instance, King Ahaz, king of Judah saw an altar in Damascus when he went to visit the king of Assyria. He sent the design back to the priest in Jerusalem to make the replica so he could offer sacrifices on it (2 Kings 16:10-20). One may argue that he offered sacrifices on it to God, so one can excuse the ‘strange altar’ he made. However, God had commanded Moses that built the original altar to build it according to the pattern that was shown to him on the mountain. Centuries later, when the permanent Temple was built, the same pattern was used! Ahaz’s altar was an abomination and the sacrifices on it (though well intentioned) were not acceptable to the Lord. Despite his numerous ‘offerings’ on this strange altar, he drifted further away from God and went deep into idolatry; resulting in him shutting the doors of the Temple of God (2 Chronicles 28: 24).The ‘love’ of St Valentine does not propel the people to Christ more or to obey His commands, but it celebrates the love of the world and the lust of the flesh! The ‘love’ it peddles is erotic masqueraded as romantic, and has at its center lust! Yet some of God's children are blinded to this truth; as a result of this, they have ignorantly placed a stamp of approval on it because its fruit “seem pleasing to the eye and good for food”. We must, however, remember that not every tree was planted by our Father: “He replied, ‘Every plant that My heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted” (Matthew 15:13). As we draw closer to the coming of the Lord, the enemy has upped his antics; and one of his most prolific periods is the St Valentine's Day celebration. Because of the need to be loved, to feel loved and be appreciated so many opened their hearts and lives to the manipulation of darkness. Unfortunately, the ‘love’ proffered by this celebration cannot fill the void they experience. So many lives and destinies are tampered with in this period. It is unfortunate that it is during this period that many unwanted pregnancies result, and in the months to follow, abortion rates will rise. All these are geared towards filling the dungeons of darkness with unsuspecting souls. It is time for those that think they stand to take their place and roll back this evil:
- Pastors, you do not have to wait for this period to teach the married in your congregation how to love and appreciate one another, or how the singles can ‘catch’ and ‘keep’ the ‘right one’. On an occasion like St Valentine's Day, you turn your congregation into hunters and preys!
- Parents love your children unequivocally so that they would not be cast into the oceans of immorality by the gimmicks of this celebration!
- Fathers tell your sons you love them and are proud of them; tell your daughters they are beautiful and strong. This reinforces their hearts, and makes them stand strong against the onslaughts of darkness; do this and they will know they don’t need strangers to affirm them.
- Husbands don’t wait until this period to tell your wives you love them and wives don’t wait until this period to tell your husbands how much you appreciate them. Let it be your daily routine, your custom, your habit!
The Bible says concerning Jesus: “And He came out and went, as was His habit, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples also followed Him” (Luke 22:39, AMP). Beloved, what is your custom, what is your habit? Why do you wait for a pagan celebration to show “love”? If the ‘love’ you claim to profess is of God it will flow from and led back to Him. But a ‘love that propels you into lust is not of or from God! Do understand that our definition and understanding of love not only affects the way the world sees God, it also boosts or limits our daily relational experiences. Someone once hilariously (foolishly) argued that 'since we live in the world we cannot avoid what is been done in it, so let us do what is been done here on earth, when we get to heaven we will do what they are doing there'! Such forget that there are consequences for every action: “Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows he will also reap, because the one who sows to his flesh, will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the spirit” (Galatians 6:7-8). Beloved, whatever we do here determines our destination in eternity!In conclusion: “As you have therefore received Christ, [even] Jesus the Lord, [so] walk (regulate your lives and conduct yourselves) in union with and conformity to Him. Have the roots[of your being] firmly and deeply planted [in Him, fixed and founded in Him], being continually built up in Him, becoming increasingly more confirmed and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and abounding and overflowing in it with thanksgiving. See to it that no one carries you off as spoil or makes you yourselves captive by his so-called philosophy and intellectualism and vain deceit (idle fancies and plain nonsense), following human tradition (men’s ideas of the material rather than the spiritual world), just crude notions following the rudimentary and elemental teachings of the universe and disregarding [the teachings of] Christ (the Messiah)” (Colossians 2:6-8, AMP).
Beloved, St Valentine's Day Celebration and all that it entails is not of God but from the pit of hell!
God bless you!
Be the first to add a comment 😊
0/850 characters