Dark Loves
We all know that there are things that are not right in the world. There is no lack of solutions offered. In past years, I’m sure many probably thought, “If we all only had more information, if people were only educated, then we could enter into a utopian state.” We now have a glut of information, more information than any person can handle, and the mess has only grown worse. Information for the purpose of education, it turns out, is not neutral. People have agendas. Some think the world would be at peace if we adopted the thinking of Marxists, whether economically or socially. Others believe that capitalism will bring peace. Still others want more education and understanding about feminism and its daughter, the LGBTQ+ movement.
Information and education can’t solve the world’s problems because of the people who are informing and educating. The problems of the world stem from disordered loves: men love darkness rather than light. In Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in John 3, he states that the world remains in a state of condemnation (and, therefore, chaos) due to its disordered loves and consequent evil deeds.
Darkness is not evil in the sense of being sinful. Darkness is declared “good” by God in the beginning (Gen 1:31). Darkness is the chaotic first thing that must move forward to the light, but it is not sinful per se. Jesus says that men are evil. Men’s loving darkness is evil because they refuse to move forward into the light of the revelation of Christ Jesus. In their sinfulness, men use the darkness to hide so that they are not exposed.
Men have disordered loves. This is not a superficial problem that can be solved with a few facts about God, themselves, or the world around them. This is a problem of the heart. What you love determines what you do. What you love has your loyalty. If you love what is evil (chaotic and sinful), then you will do those deeds that produce more evil.
Your loves, your deepest heart commitments, are revealed in what you do. You do what you love most. A man may say he loves his wife, but if he doesn’t protect and provide for her, then he doesn’t love her. A wife may say that she loves her husband, but if she doesn’t respect and honor him, then she doesn’t love him. A person may say, “I love the Scriptures,” but if he doesn’t meditate on them and obey them, then he doesn’t love them.
As painful as it is to realize, when we sin, it is because we love darkness rather than light. Even for Christians, these old loves must be constantly put to death. Furthermore, it is the sin itself that we must hate and not merely its consequences. When we sin and there are unpleasant consequences, we may say, “I hate that sin.” But do we? If there were no other consequence except God’s stated displeasure, would we still hate the sin? Would you still view pornography, control your impulses of anger, or hold on to your bitterness and unforgiveness if there weren’t felt consequences to your sin? You answer that question by looking at your actions and examining what you do when the consequences of sin aren’t immediate. Do you continue to do it until you are caught?
Your love needs to be reoriented. But how? Ultimately, the work is done by the Holy Spirit, but before you start blaming the Spirit for not striking you with a sanctification lightning bolt that removes all desires to sin without any fight from you, you need to understand how the Spirit works.
We confess in the Creed that the Spirit is the Lord and Giver of life. How does he give life? Through food, drink, air, and all that it takes to supply us with those things. The Spirit works through ordinary means. Reorientation of our loves comes through teaching and exhortation from the Scriptures, prayer, the Sacraments, and the encouragement of the saints. In these means that are found in the church, he has given you everything you need for life and godliness (2 Pt 1:3). Just as the Spirit cannot be blamed for not sustaining your life if you refuse to eat, so he cannot be blamed for your continuing sin when you don’t use the means he gives through the church. The Spirit re-orders your loves through walking in faith, that is, doing what he says to do even when you don’t feel like it.
The only question is, what do you love most? The answer to that question is found in what you do, not merely what you say.
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