This Ain't Love

In different cultures throughout the world, love is more than a word, emotion, or felling. Love is an action word that exudes from one person to another. Not for personal gain or to say to others, "I've done this or that for somebody else." Love is a gift, something like a gift of life, to others; giving them the power to go on in an imperfect world. Love is a man who tries his hardest to do right by his wife and children. Love is a friend ensuring that she never double crosses her friend in spite of what other lames have said (especially when it comes to her friend's past and faults). Love is saying you will look out for the homeless when you are elected into a prominent office and actually stay true to your word when it happens. Love is actually loving someone else who looks different and even smells different than you when you say you serve the God that is love. But c'mon son (like Ed Lover), we're living in a day and age when the love is something love. Love is now seeing a chick in the club, spit a few words, and then "shoot up her club" for a full 3 minutes. Then 7 months later, she's calling you to tell that she's pregnant with your kid and that word you flew out there to get what you wanted at that particular moment means nothing. Love is now abandoning your friends because you believe in the words of some liar that is ruining your friend's reputation. Love isn't talking about your "loved one's" problems during "for your eyes only" conversations to the whole world and then smile in their face like nothing happened. Now other people are looking at that same person crazy because of your fake loving self. Hmmm.... This isn't love. Love definitely isn't using Jesus' name to manipulate someone to build up your image, financial status, and "power"and then "emasculates" anyone who shares a different opinion (usually is brought up when they understand the true meaning of the Bible for themselves). Love causes people to say I'm sorry if they have offended someone without trying to sweep the wrongdoing under the rug. It's actually taking the time to break the situation down with the person they've offended in humility and admit they are wrong (for a change). I hope you all hear what I'm saying. We have to know what true love is and is not; thereby pursue to walk in the true image and action of love. Many of us, if not all of us, are going to experience true love and fake love. On the job, in the church, in a mosque, in political offices, or in the music industry. So I encourage you, know the difference and teach what the true meaning of love in the sight of God is all about. Manipulative, sadistic, religious, greedy, controlling, and lying people that control as such don't know love. But you who strive to not become this way know what true love is.

Til next time, my friends, words from "The Ventilator"

References:
Bizzle This Ain't Love: http://youtu.be/AjstnrQL7jY
1st Corinthians 13
Matthew 7:15-20 (to sum it all up, determine who's real and who's fake)

Grow Up

Maturity:
noun
1 her progress from childhood to maturity: adulthood, majority, coming-of-age, manhood, womanhood.
2 he displayed a maturity beyond his years: responsibility, sense, levelheadedness; wisdom, discrimination, shrewdness, sophistication.

This word is what we need. This is what we should aspire to achieve. This is what we should covet to become and discipline ourselves to obtain. But to be quite honest, a lot of us in American society aren't trying to get that at all. As the definition of this word maturity shows, "responsibility, sense, levelheadedness, wisdom, sophistication", is what we run away from. Maturity also entails accountability, an open mind (an expanded view of life), and learning new tricks (despite if we're old dogs). Why do we run from maturity? Why do we love the comforts of acting like 12 year-old middle school kids always starting something? Why do we hate to listen and apply the wisdom we receive on the daily? It's crazy but it's true. Within the past couple of years, maybe the past two years, I've seen immaturity in my immediate surroundings at an all time high, even within myself. The gossip. The lying. The cheating. The brown-nosing. The disrespect. Etc. Etc. We see this happen from the business world, to the college rooms, to the executive board meetings, and to the professional basketball team (i.e. - look at Kobe's plight with the Lakers {Dwight Howard}). Immaturity is like the worst form of malignant cancer for business relationships, friendships, church communities, and teachers providing valid information to his or her students. Those who are mature have to pray two hours more to deal with them and their complaining. Mature people can't hang with those who are immature because they already know it's like making a stubborn mule drinking fresh water from a well. Those who are mature are always in forward motion, looking to help someone as they as going somewhere, and desire to leave a mark of success (even in the midst of failure) before they're six feet deep. But let me give you all a bulleted list of immaturity:

• sensitive and takes offense when corrected
• shuns wisdom
• selfish and moody
• untrustworthy and messy
• busybody and unaccountable
• acting like a fool (in other terms, ghetto)
• no respect for authority (God, boss, laws, etc.)
• shameful and off the chiz-ain

So what is the definition of immaturity:
noun
the state of being immature or not fully grown.
• behavior that is appropriate to someone younger: they were shocked by such immaturity in a grown man.

My friends, I have some good news for us. It's time for us to grow up. It's time for us to be children and be men and women. It's time for us to step up to the plate and be responsible people (i.e. - taking care of our kids and making others raise them for us, admit when we're wrong, being real with ourselves, etc.). It's time for us to stop the gossip because on the real, our words of death are rendering death to the person we're yapping our lips about. It's time for us to stop disrespecting our bosses at our jobs and say yes sir/ma'am, no sir/ma'am (and if they're wrong, pray for them!). It's time for us to stop being and acting ghetto. Be respectful of ourselves and for others for a change. Ghetto-ness is keeping us from going to that next level. It's time for us to stop being so sensitive that people can't even tell us that our shoes are untied. Man, I can go on and on but I'm not inexhaustible. What I'm saying here guys, grow up. We need to do it now. Don't wait until tomorrow because it's not promised. Work towards maturity while its day. Jesus Himself could only achieve favor with God and with man through one thing, Maturity (Luke 2:52). So, let me leave you with these words from my long gone mentor Paul:

1st Corinthians 13:11:
"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things."

As my man Stephen the Levite said years ago, "It's time for the children of God to grow up..."
Indeed my brother, indeed.

Til next time, Tchuss, gw (exit dgwo).

References:
Proverbs 17:25
1st Corinthians 13:11
Hebrews 6:12