It’s right there in I Corinthians 13. The writer enumerates what love is not and what it is.
And, to no surprise, some of the attributes we value the most are what it is not: success, intelligence, good intentions, and public generosity. Furthermore, the qualities which we consider weak embody the complicated, yet very simple, emotion: patience, kindness, humility, contentment, tolerance, gentility, forbearance, and honesty.
And honesty is perhaps one of the most difficult things to bring to the table in relationships. When someone we supposedly love and who supposedly loves us hurts us, being honest with ourselves about what is happening and walking away is the hardest thing in the world to do. That phenomenon is one of the reasons one in three women on the plant will be raped or beaten in her lifetime — that amounts to one billion, and that is far too many.
The above link is to onebillionrising.org . On Valentine’s Day, the organization is sponsoring a “rise up and dance day.” While one billion women victimized is an atrocity, “one billion dancing is a revolution.”
There are special events to commemorate the day happening throughout the world and in almost every state of the union; but if traveling somewhere isn’t possible, each of us can dance our own dance and sing our own song to help put a dent in, if not end, violence against women.
I challenge you to walk away if you are being hurt by fists or words. I challenge you to help someone else do the same.
I challenge you to teach your sons not to violate a woman he purports to love and instill in your daughters the strength to say “no” to any who would hurt her.
I challenge you to dance this Valentine’s Day.
I will for sure.