How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
This famous poem, written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, is number 43 of a collection of 44 love sonnets in the collection, Sonnets from the Portuguese, composed around 1845 after her secret courtship and marriage to Robert Browning. Their courtship was kept secret because she knew her father would disapprove. He did indeed, disinheriting her after her marriage (as he did with each of his children who married).
It seems that “love” means different things to different people.
In the past few days, love his been “in the news.” Valentine’s Day has become a commercial juggernaut, with U.S. expenditures exceeding $18.6 billion. This includes the $367 million Americans spend annually on Valentine’s Day gifts for their pets! (Scroll to the bottom of this post to see a chart of Valentine’s Day spending)
But what does “love” really look like in its purest form?
“But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all. If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance … Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 12:31-13:8, 13:13, New Living Translation)
Perhaps love is not so much about warm feelings, expensive gifts, or special experiences. Perhaps—no, certainly—it is about choices, commitment, and consistent actions. True love originates with God, and how we live it out EVERY DAY really matters to Him.
You will find more statistics at Statista
