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But none of these theories provides
the complete answer.
·
Love ls the Answer
The latest and most widely accepted
theory regarding this basic need is
that the common "taproot" of all hu–
man action is our need for !ove!
William Glasser expresses this
"new, scientific" finding this way:
"First is the need to !ove and be
loved. In all its forms, ranging from
friendship through motber !ove, fam–
ily !ove, and conjuga! !ove, this need
drives us to continuous activity in
search of satisfaction"
(Reality
Therapy,
p.
11 ).
As a matter of fact, psychologists
claim that it is a lack of !ove which is
the cause of all individual human
problems! Glasser explains it this
way: "When \.ve cannot satisfy our
total need for !ove, we will without
fail sutfer and react with many fa–
miliar psychological symptoms, from
mild discomfort through anxiety and
depression to complete withdrawal
from the world around us"
(ibid).
lt
could be concluded quite easily
that man's every action, be it good ·or
bad, is an attempt on his part to ful–
fill his need for !ove. Dr. Thomas P.
Malone of the Atlanta Psychiatric
Clinic says: "Almost every emotional
problem can be summed up in one
particular behavior: It's a person
walking around screaming: 'F.or
God's sake, !ove me.' Love me, that is
all. He goes through a million ditfer–
ent manipulations to get somebody to
!ove him" (Dale E. Galloway,
You
Can Win With Love,
pp. 14-15).
Sorne go so far
~s
to state that !ove
is the solution to all the problems of
the world today- individually and
nationally! Erich Fromm says, "Love
is the only sound and satisfactory an–
swer to the problem of human exis–
tence"
(The Art of Loving,
pp. 111-
112). "This desire for interpersonal
fusion [!ove] is the most powerful
striving in man.
lt
is the most funda–
mental passion, it is the force which
keeps the human race together, the
clan, the fami ly society.... Without
!ove humanity could not exist for a
day"
·(ibid. ,
p. 15).
Glasser reiterates: "From birth to
old age we need to !ove and be Joved.
Throughout our lives, our health and
January
1980
our happiness will depend upon our
ability to do so. To either !ove or to
allow ourselves to be loved is not
enough; we must do both"
(Reality
Therapy,
p. JI).
Science and the Bible Agree
However "new" and "scientific" this
may sound, J esus Christ said the
same thing nearly two thousand
years ago. Love is so important to the
health and happiness of mankind
that God's law commanded it and
Christ expressed it this way: "Thou
shalt !ove thy neighbor
a~
thyself '
(Matthew 22:39).
Isn't it strange that the psycholog–
ical sciences have come to recognize
what the Bible has taught for thou–
sands of years? One might think that
science now agrees with the Bible–
there is a great need for man to !ove
others as well as to be loved. Christ
called this need "the second great
commandment of God."
Karl Menninger •said, " If we can
!ove enough ... this is the touch–
stone. This is the key to the entire
therapeutic program of the modern
psychiatric hospital. . .. Love is the
medicine for the sickness of the
world" (William
R.
Parker,
Prayer
Can Change Your Lije,
p. 83).
Science has come a long way in rec–
ognizing !ove (as expressed in one of
God's "great commandments") as
the answer to all man's problems.
What is Love?
But understanding that man's
greatest need is !ove does not auto–
matically solve all our problems. The
question arises, "Well, just what is
)ove and how should it be expressed
in actions toward others and our–
selves?" Psychologists, philosophers
and experts in ethics and morality
may say that "!ove is doing whatever
is reasonable and responsible to one's
self and others in a particular situa–
tion." However, the weakness in this
definition is that what may be "rea–
sonable" to one person, group, or so–
ciety might be totally "unreasona–
ble" to another.
For instance, the lsraelis and
Arabs (whose ditferences have Ied to
war) both feel their actions are "rea–
sonable and responsible.' ' However
justified a war may seem to either of
them, it is hardly expressing !ove.
Menninger is right. The key to
solving the world's ills is !ove; howev–
er, sorne people's understanding of
!ove is vag4e, subject to various inter–
pretations, incomplete, and therefore
unacceptable.
It
is "situation ethics"
wrapped up in a new package.
Surely there is a better definition
of !ove than this-and there is! But
the answer is a metaphysical one.
Science therefore
~as
not and will
never discover it via the scientific
method.
Man ls Only Half There
What man does not seem to under–
stand is that he is actually not "all
there." At birth he has within him a
spirit. Not a "ghost." Not a spirit
being - but spiritual essence, in the
sense that air· or wind or water is
physical essence.
This spirit imparts the power of
intellect to the physical brain. But
with it he is incomplete-not "all ·
there." He needs
another
Spirit to
make him really complete-to supply
that which a lone can satisfy his
real
need, which is spiritual, and not
physical. l t is the Holy Spirit of
God.
And God
is
!ove, so God's Spirit
provides
God's !ove-a
spiritual
!ove. God's Spirit is not
only
!ove,
it is life- eternal life. lt is godly
power.
Man doesn't know it, but
that
is
his real
need-and
the only one that
will satisfy.
Science Has Only
Part of the Answe r
Man will never properly understand
what real !ove is until he comes to
realize he has a spiritual need which
is greater and even more important
than bis need to !ove bis fellowman
and himself. The secret of who and
what man's greatest need is was re–
vealed by J esus Christ when He said:
"Love the Lord thy God witb all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy mind. T his is the first and
great commandment" (Matthew
22:37-38).
Christ here shows that God is that
missing spiritual element and that
He must be involved in one's Iife be–
fore true !ove can be expressed. It is
19