Let’s talk about love.
I’m writing this the day after Valentine’s Day, so perhaps this is a cheap ploy, but I’m not talking about a thin sheen of love wrapped around manufactured commercialism.
I’m talking about the difficult, worthwhile, messy sort of love that is so vital.
So, I’ve been reading Wendell Berry’s newest book that was released in October 2022. 528 pages long and packed with 88 years’ worth of wisdom, it has caused a stir across the political spectrum, as Wendell is wont to do. The book is titled “The Need To Be Whole: Patriotism and the History of Prejudice” and it attempts to tackle some of our society’s most difficult problems. And as difficult as society’s problems are, the solutions are not nearly as difficult.
It would be impossible to condense the work into a short essay, but the underlying message is to point towards the two greatest commandments. In Matthew 22, Jesus is asked by a Pharisee which commandment is the greatest. Jesus replies, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Love God. Love your neighbor. Jesus made it simple. Everything else cascades from there. And as Wendell observes, the same applies in our so-called “modern” society. Think of all the ills that trouble our world today—wars, environmental degradation, social conflict, economic struggles—and in them, you will find a direct descent from our failures to follow the greatest commandments.
On November 17, 1957, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama in which he addressed Jesus’s call to love your enemies. Dr. King said, “far from being the pious injunction of a utopian dreamer, this command is an absolutely necessity for the survival of our civilization. Yes, it is love that will save our world and our civilization, love even for enemies.”
As I think about the necessity and importance of strengthening community, I think about the necessity of love. To be clear, this is not some pie-in-the-sky impracticality. Merely circling up, holding hands, and singing Kumbaya will not solve all the world’s problems. But as Dr. King says, Jesus was very serious in this message. Civilization counts on it. He realized that loving your enemies is very difficult and very necessary. Hatred, even for your enemies, is very destructive. Love creates and redeems.
Recently, a young family in Stamford lost their home to an overnight fire. They are good folks with young children and they lost practically all their possessions. Not to be deterred, the community of Stamford has rallied to their aid. A bank account was started. Myriad folks donated clothes, furniture, and more. A benefit lunch was quickly assembled and it included a silent auction full of items from local businesses who assisted without hesitation. These are the ways that a group of people show love for one another, build each other up, and strengthen the bonds of community.
For reasons I intend to outline in a future essay, rural people do not always do a good job of expressing or talking about the concept of “love.” Our actions may reflect love for one another, but we do not like to talk about that awkward four-letter word. It is time we change that. Love of God and neighbor is our greatest calling. It is not an option. It is an instruction. As we express that love, as we show it in our actions, and as we reckon with the uncomfortable, difficult, necessary nature of “love,” we will find that it will improve God’s creation, our relationships to one another, and the places that we call home.
James Decker is the Mayor of Stamford, Texas and the creator of the West of 98 website and podcast. Contact James and subscribe to these essays at westof98.substack.com and subscribe to West of 98 wherever podcasts are found.