On Valentine's Day: Make Your First Love a Priority

Photo by Chandan Chaurasia on Unsplash

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:8 (NIV)

Valentine’s Day is often referred as the day for lovers and the words “love” and “romance” are often used in connection with it. The purchase of chocolate, candy, flowers, balloons, cards, and jewelry, as well as, dining out on Valentine’s Day occurs at an all-time high. In fact, according to James S. Kiernan's in his article, 2020 Valentine's Day Facts -- Gifts, Money & More, "$27.4B is the total Valentine's Day projected spending for 2020, which is up 32% from 2019." Let me be clear, I certainly believe in celebrating this day of “love” and “romance,” but I believe love should be shown three hundred and sixty-five days a year. 

Although Valentine’s Day is a holiday that many women anticipate; unfortunately, for some, it is often dreaded and even turns into a day of doom and gloom because they are not married or in serious relationships. No matter what your relationship status is, rather than getting consumed with the world’s “hype” of this holiday, I encourage you to make spending intimate time with God a top priority on Valentine’s Day. When you make spending time with God a top priority on Valentine’s Day, your focus shifts from the commercialism of this day to what is most important – your relationship with Him. As Deuteronomy 6:5 (NIV) says, Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 

To become more intimate with God on Valentine’s Day, here are some suggestions:

• Make it a priority to just be still in order to declutter your mind so that you can hear from God
• Have your own retreat with God where you set aside a certain time frame to just read the Bible, pray and meditate
• Fast from social media, turn off the TV, computer and cell phone for a certain time frame and simply listen to some gospel, jazz or classical music to soothe your soul
• Write down your thoughts or a love letter to God in a journal

In addition to making God a top priority on Valentine’s Day, I believe it is also important to take the focus off of yourself and show love to others because you just never know how your act of kindness is going to bless someone. As 1 John 4:7 (NKJV) states, Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

Below are some examples of things that you can do to bless others: 

• Volunteer at a nursing home, children’s hospital or homeless shelter
• Give a gift card to someone from their favorite store or restaurant
• Spend time with a recent widow or widower that is still in the grieving process
• Send a nice note or card to someone you may know that is incarcerated

Being able to celebrate “love” and “romance” on Valentine’s Day is truly a blessing, but just remember that it is most important to take time out of your day for intimacy with God and to “love on” someone else.

Happy Valentine’s Day!