Can One Love Too Much?

It is an interesting question. What is love, and can their be too much of it? A very simple, descriptive word for love would be "unconditional." It looks out for the needs of the other person even if it means giving up its own. I do not know anyone who has done this too much, in fact I think there should be more of it. I think what we mean by "love too much," refers to when one clings to something and won't let go. Yet, if the one clung to must go (or even if they must not), then would not unconditional love let them go? So when we ask the question of "Do we love too much?" We are really asking ourselves, "Do we love too little?"

Love in 21st Century America has become very conditional.
"I will love and fight for my country so long as it meets my needs. If it doesn't, I might go and riot in the streets until it does."
"I will love my wife and family so long as they meet my needs. If not, I may just file for divorce and find someone who does."
"I will love my church, yes even my church, so long as it meets my needs. If not, then I will hop around until I find one that does."

What might happen to our churches, our family, yes even our nation if we reversed all of those statements?
"You know what? My country doesn't meet all my needs, but I love my country so I will complete my civil duties and be content."
"You know what? There are times when my family lets me down, but I love my family so I will continue my duty as husband and father and be content."
"You know what? My church and pastor don't always feed me like I need, but I love my church, so I will continue to do my part and be content."

The funny thing about needs is that, in my experience, I find that I really don't know my needs as much as I think I do. C.S. Lewis put it this way in his book The Horse and His Boy, "All get what they want, they do not always like it." Time and time again I am shown that I do not like the things I think I need. In fact, there are times I receive the things I never knew I needed, but then realized I had always needed them.

"No one knows your needs better than you," many have told me. On the contrary, I think I have found Someone who knows my needs better than I.