Saturday, November 21, 2009

Emotional Attachment

We all know what it feels like to be swept off of our feet by the "Prince(ss) of our dreams." Or so we think. In reality, the many people we fall for end up leaving us confused and often broken. As an American teenager, I see many people falling for this trap. These people find themselves attracted to someone, so they attach themselves to him/her. When this attachment occurs, all common sense is thrown out the window.

Let's say Samantha finds herself attracted to Jim. When Samantha sees Jim, she sees a loyal partner that will never leave nor forsake her for all the days of her life. Now, this may be true, but how likely is it that her view is accurate? (Especially as a teenager.) Later on, Samantha watches Jim slap a fellow classmate without reason. This terrifying scene shocks her, so she asks Jim about it. He replies with, "Oh it was nothing. Don't worry about it." Samantha can take this three ways: a) She leave Jim because of the upcoming breaches in the relationship. b) She could stay with Jim because of fear of what he will do to her, or c) She could deny that he meant to hurt the guy, and love Jim nonetheless.
Logically, the only answer is to leave the relationship. Unfortunately, many girls (and guys for that matter) either overlook or deny all warning signs for failure. Song of Songs 8:4 says,

"I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, Do not stir up nor awaken love Until it
pleases."

According the blueletterbible.com, the Hebrew roots of the phrase "do not stir up" mean "b) (Niphal) to be roused" and "d) (Hithpolel) to be excited, be triumphant" among many other definitions. This phrase was originally written in imperfect tense.

"The imperfect expresses an action, process or condition which is incomplete,
and it has a wide range of meaning:
1a) It is used to describe a single (as
opposed to a repeated) action in the past;
...These relate not so much as to
one occasion, as to a continued condition
...3) The imperfect is used to
express the "future", referring not only to an action which is about to be
accomplished but one which has not yet begun:"
Wow! In writing this, God communicates that we should not have stirred up love in the past, we should not stir up love right now in the present, and we should not stir up love in the future if it does not desire.

In addition to this, one of the root meanings is to be exciting or triumphant. We should not go into a relationship triumphantly or excitedly if God's timing has not yet come. Really, all of this boils down to that one concept.
Ecclesiastes 3:1,5 declares:

"To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: 5 A
time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, and a
time to refrain from embracing;"
No matter what we are doing, if we don't do it in God's will and timing, it will never go the way we have planned.

Lord, help us to follow in the plans You have for us. Let us be completely in You, always listening and ready to follow what You have for us, not what we have for ourselves.

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