Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” So out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brough them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper fit for him.
Genesis 2:18-20
Periodically throughout this unit on love, we will pause and have a “battleground” day. On these days, we will pose questions to think about relating to our “battle” for love. Why would we call love a battle? Doesn’t a battle involve fighting? We know that nothing in perfect in this world, only God is perfect. The concept of love, meaning the way that God loves us, is perfect. However, our love for one another and our love for God is not perfect. Remember that sin is the absence of love. Each time we sin, we are failing to love. Because love is the goal but sin constantly sidetracks us, it is a “battle” to love. The battle is against the devil and the temptations he brings, and the battle is also within ourselves, to understand love, to fight for what is good and loving and true.
One of the battles involving love is to find loving relationships, and another is to keep them. We believe that God created everything, as we previously discussed. And God made everything good, He made it perfect. He made man in His image and likeness. Humanity is the only created entity that God made like this. Animals are not made in His image. Plants are not made in His image. Even the most beautiful of landscapes is not made in God’s image.
We read in Genesis 2:18-20, that God said “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make a helper fit for him.” (Genesis 2:18) From the beginning God intended for man to live in community. The first “community” is the Holy Trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit (One God in three persons)—lives in complete unity, in perfect love. So God brought all the animals to man to see what he would name them, and what he would do with them. But from all of them, none was a helper fit for him, none could establish with man the kind of community that God intends for us to have.
A computer is not a person. Through artificial intelligence (AI) we can go to a computer for advice and feel like we are interacting with a computer the same as we interact with another human being. Some people use AI as a therapist—we ask a question, or come to AI with a problem, and AI solves the problem. We have the ability to take the human interface out of the problem-solving equation. We become a “community” with a computer. Except the computer is not a community, it is not a human being created in the image and likeness of God. The attraction of AI as a friend/problem solver/community is potentially a dangerous proposition. Because now instead of spending an evening out with friends, negotiating the potential challenges of a relationship, we can stay in and spend a night with co-pilot or gemini ai, “chatting” and “discussing” things.
In the verses that follow Genesis 2:18-20, we read about how God formed woman and brought her to man and established the sacrament of marriage. In doing this God also established the concept of community. Marriage is an example of community. So is friendship. Later on, communities would be established where people live (neighborhoods), where they gather (churches, social groups, clubs) and where they exchange ideas (schools, places of business, etc.). We are meant to live in community, a community of other human beings. Even if we live alone—if we are single, widowed, are a hermit—there is a need to exist in community. It is important to interact with other people. Even monastics that live as hermits come to the “community” to worship.
So, the first question to ask on the battleground for love is “Who loves you?” Make a list of the people who love you—you can write down specific names, or even categories of people (parents, siblings, co-workers, etc.). Look at your list. Is there someone missing from the list that you wish was on your list? Maybe you have children who you don’t think love you, or maybe you know they don’t love you (because you are estranged from them). Same thing with your spouse. Maybe the person you are married to is more of a roommate and there isn’t much love there. Does God make your list of people who love you? Why would God be on your list? And more important, if God isn’t on the list of those who love you, why is that? There are sadly some people who think that God does not love them. This is generally for two reasons. Either they haven’t been good to God. They commit serious sins which make them think God no longer loves, or can love them. The second reason is they perceive God has not been good to them, so they feel like they have lost God’s love.
The second question to ask on the battleground for love is “Who do you love?” Make a list of people who you love—you can write down specific names, or categories, as before. Look at your list. Is there someone missing from the list that you wish was on your list? Maybe someone who you wish you could love but the relationship has collapsed either by your doing or theirs. Maybe someone has wronged you and you don’t love them anymore. Or you have wronged someone who no longer loves you. Sometimes reconciliation is possible through forgiveness and repentance, and other times it is not. Does God make the list of those you love? Why or why not?
If there is love between us and God, we should address the questions: How does God show His love for us? And how do we show our love for God? God shows His love for us by blessing us with life, mercy, and hope. God shows us the gift of life every day that we wake up. He offers mercy through forgiveness. And He gives hope through the Gospel, that what God is looking for isn’t perfection, but effort. We show love to God through obedience and repentance, obedience to His commandments, and repentance when we’ve fallen away from them.
Lord, thank You for the gifts of life, mercy and hope that I receive from You every day whether I realize it or not. Thank You for the gift of people who love me (list their names and how they love you). Thank You for the privilege I have to love other people (list their names and how/why you love them). Help me to strengthen the bonds of love I have with those around me. Most especially thank You for loving me. May I work each day to strengthen the bond between us. Amen.
We were created to live in community, in “communion” and “union” with others—parents, spouses, children, friends, and most especially we are created for communion with God. In meditating on the questions “Who loves you?” and “Who do you love?” let us always remember that God loves us, and that we should love Him as well.
