Love Essay, Research Paper

Love is a theological virtue that enables us to develop caring relationships with God and others. With love comes sexuality, which is the condition of having a gender and relating to others as a result of that gender. Love and sexuality often go hand and hand but when people deal with these factors there are guidelines so that people do not abuse two wonderful gifts that God has given us.

To live a chaste life is not always simple and easy. There are cultural challenges that affect us and make it difficult for us to make the right decisions. These challenges test us and can make us stronger people. First, sexual intercourse, which is the most intimate act between a man and a woman in marriage, is sometimes used as a way to obtain money and power. At times people’s lives become like soap operas because of their greed and the low regard they have for nurturing love. Also, sex is often the hook or gimmick for an advertisement. It sells perfume, furniture, cars, gum, clothes, food, and anything else imaginable. It becomes the reason to see a movie or comedian. Second, in our culture love is used to describe a feeling for many things. This makes it hard for a person to be sure that they really love a person, or that the other person truly loves them. And finally, in our culture growing up as a kid the Catholic religion, the labels of sex being dirty or sinful often paint the wrong picture of a perfectly normal; intimate act that God Himself created. Then, a person sees the virtue of chastity as just another rule to brake. Another rebellious act has no meaning based on the first impression they were given about sex.

Society is another obstacle to overcome when a person is trying to live a chaste life. First, for people of all ages peer pressure is a force to reckon with. The pressure on each of us to conform to the standards of others can be great. The point of peer pressure is to make a person feel that they are not accepted unless they do what others are doing. When it comes to having, sex encouragement and pushing from outsiders make things harder. Second, society gives us a blanket to shield ourselves with, which sounds good but is really a lie. It is the lie of individuality. The person says they are doing what they are doing not because of someone else but because they want to do it. But actually, people say this so often that it is really a scapegoat for conformity. And third, the familiar phrase “everybody’s doing it ” is another excuse, however, in reality, not everyone is doing it in the first place and that’s them, and not you.

Christian love includes three qualities; one of them is responsibility. Responsibility means being able to answer for one’s conduct and obligations and being able to choose for oneself between right and wrong. As Christians, we believe that we are “temples of the Holy Spirit” and because of that privilege, we have a responsibility to treat ourselves and others not as objects but as persons, God’s human beings.

Another quality in Christian love is respect. Respect is an act of giving particular attention or consideration to a person. All people deserve respect. A person’s partner especially deserves to be held in high regard. In Jesus’ image, we are called to respect others and ourselves, which is something that comes before truly loving someone. When you love someone, you respect their ideals, beliefs, and wishes.

A final quality in a love that is chaste is self-control. Self-control is restraint exercised over one’s own impulses, emotions, or desires. Because we are disciples of Jesus, the right thing to do is to be obedient to Him. And to try to act based on the mutual good of others and ourselves.

My character is best enhanced by mature and responsible relationships by putting out effort. It involves a life-long way of relating to others. Also, there are rewards to living a chaste life such as a sense of true freedom and happiness because I am relating rightly to others. My character is brought out through meaningful friendships, being an educated person, and by being someone that people can respect for holding my ground on something that is important to me.

In conclusion, by having right relationships with God and others we can have true peace. True peace comes with maintaining a healthy balance. A feeling of well being and contentment along with great happiness can be achieved while exercising self-control, respect, and responsibility.