By this time tomorrow, many individuals will be gifted with flowers, chocolate, and fancy dinners. And for those who forgot that tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, you have T-minus 24 hours to get together a plan.
It wasn’t until recently that I learned how important this day is to many people. Personally, I’ve never been a massive fan of the holiday itself, and I was shocked to learn just how much money people spend on it.
According to the National Retail Federation, individuals are expected to spend a record-breaking $27.5 billion this Valentine’s Day. This jaw-dropping number comes after $25.8 billion was spent in 2024! The report continued to explain that this year, consumers are likely to spend an average of $188.81 on this love-filled weekend. Yet, after reading these numbers, I couldn’t help but feel bad for my husband.
After having our baby last fall, we agreed that we wouldn’t go crazy on Valentine’s Day this year. In fact, we set a $20 budget for gifts and plan to have a home-cooked meal to celebrate. While trying to decide the best gift to give him, I was reminded of a gift he gave me early on in our marriage.
One day, I came home from work to find a package sitting on our dining room table.
“I got you a surprise,” he said unexpectedly.
Excitedly, I opened the box to see what it could be. However, nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to find.
As I peeled back the tape, I found a package of anti-snoring nose strips inside. I looked at him and saw him grinning back.
When I tell you that I was offended, I seriously was offended. How dare he “gift” me with such a thing!
Following this situation, I refused to try them out. After all, this was a problem I didn’t have, so why would I need them? But after he continually asked, I decided to prove him wrong.
And it was the best night’s sleep I had experienced in a very long time.
The moral of this story is that I obviously had a problem … but didn’t want to admit it. Meanwhile, my husband watched me toss and turn every night and tried to find a solution.
I know that my husband didn’t get me anything extraordinary. Instead, he gave me something out of genuine love and concern for my health and well-being (and it didn’t hurt that he thought he’d also catch some extra sleep). It wasn’t roses or chocolate. And it sure didn’t cost more than a few bucks. But instead, it was an average (slightly offensive) purchase that he knew would help me.
This instance taught me two things. First, I learned I have a husband who will give me unconventional yet practical gifts. Second, I learned that although others may show love in different ways, it doesn’t make it any less genuine, and how I respond to that love has the potential to show Christ.
Famous for its teachings on love, 1 Corinthians 13 explains this highly-marketed feeling and how we, as believers, should show it. Verses 4-7 say the following:
“Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
Once upon a time, a long time ago, a youth pastor taught me and a bunch of other youth group kids that in order to see if we, as students, were loving others as we should, we should replace the word “love” with our name.
If I were to apply that logic to that verse and my husband’s gift, I would quickly find that I was not patient, nor very kind, and a little bit arrogant in that situation. No matter how silly I thought it might be, someone was trying to show me love.
In today’s world, loving as Christ loved the church may seem just as silly as those nose strips were to those who don’t know Him. Many onlookers see no use in
standing up for the truth of the Bible or ministering to the hurting.
However, that doesn’t mean they aren’t watching.
Make no doubt about it: the world, our families, and everyone we come in contact with are watching us as Christians – every single day.
What do they see?
Are we being patient? Are we kind? Are we rejoicing for the good, holy things that are happening around us? Do we care about others?
If the answer to these questions is “no,” we might need to reevaluate ourselves and ask for forgiveness. To fulfill the teachings of 1 Corinthians 13, we must choose to honor Christ and love those around us daily – not just on February 14th.
