The Best Power Source to Have

Several years ago, a grandson was eagerly opening his birthday presents with typical three-year-old glee. Pulling the last of the tissue paper out of a bag, he grabbed hold of a small package, held it up and shaking with excitement, shouted at the top of his lungs, “BATTERIES!!!”

Even in his short life, he had learned that many of the things he loved to play with required this power source. No matter how wonderful the toy, dead batteries meant it didn’t work. Of all the gifts he received, he prized his batteries the most.

While driving through the beauty of Yellowstone on a family vacation, someone brought up the battery story. It always makes us laugh and has become one of those family vocabulary words that is full of meaning.

Things are changing fast in our world today. Some we might agree with and others we might vehemently oppose. We are blessed in this country with freedom of speech, and many are exercising that right. I have no issue with honest debate, and I am not afraid of someone disagreeing with me while they hold fast to the beliefs in their heart, no matter how different they may be from mine. 

What I find alarming, is that the level of civility during these debates has dropped considerably.

Our process of communication isn’t working because we’re running out of power. No matter how grand the platform, or how wonderful the cause, we are stalling in our efforts to move and sway opinion, or get a valid point across, because we don’t have what it takes to power our movement:

LOVE

Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 13, that though we have knowledge to understand all mysteries, faith enough to move mountains, and bestow all our goods to feed the poor, without love we are nothing.

Think of the amount of faith we must have to move a mountain.

Imagine what we would know to understand all the mysteries of God.

Yet these are not enough to make up for the lack of love in our life. How we treat and communicate with others is of paramount importance. If we would heed the Lord’s commandments, then we should be ever striving to love others as He loves us.

Then perhaps our broken things will be whole again.