Can you be taught Love or does it have to be felt or "gifted"?

Question

Peace and Love

Answer 1

A long time ago I thought that love was something that you reserved for some special set of people that you had judged worthy of it.

After a while I got to thinking about what Jesus had said about turning the other cheek and loving our neighbor I put the two together and realized that he had made no exceptions in these statements. It became obvious to me that he intended that we exclude no one from the love that we are supposed to be giving. I started thinking about my idea of love and suddenly realized that I had not been loving anyone at all. I had simply been judging everyone and every thing.

Judging someone worthy of love is not love, it is only judgment. I actually started to cry when I realized this. I saw just how much of my life I had wasted being judgmental, thinking of myself as a Christian, when I was actually doing just the opposite of what Jesus had asked us to do.

I thought about the verse judge not lest ye be judged, and I understood it for the first time.

I realized that I have a lot of catching up to do. So many opportunities were wasted. I now try to apply the love that I have for the world in a universal way like Jesus asks us to do.

If I start to feel afraid and think that I see someone that I should not love because of something I have thought or heard I try to catch my mistake as soon as possible. I tell myself that I have forgot the truth and have fallen for the same old trick that had cost me so many opportunities to be loving in the past. The horror of this realization is often all that is necessary to bring me back to my senses and make me drop the judgmental nonsense I was thinking.

I still have a lot to learn about love, but at least I’m making progress.

Love and blessings

Your brother
don

Answer 2

You can be 'taught' to love people, which is more along the lines of teaching one how to change one's perception.

One example would be of how one deals with a homeless person. If one were initially of the frame of mind 'well, look at that lazy bum. They must have deserved what they got.' and then one worked to actually 'understand' a person on the individual level, to go past one's prejudices, that is actually the first step of 'loving' someone.

You can't love someone you don't really know. To love someone means to actually 'know' them, and in knowing them, value them. You don't value people when you render them as mass objects or mass perceptions.

Of course, once you get past the mass perception, and get to know them individually, really know them individually as a person, then it becomes easier to have that traditional 'feeling' of love and respect. When you evolve your perception into one based upon love (which means simply seeing this other person as someone of value, no matter who they are) then it becomes easier to have a love-based appreciation towards others. The more you see the 'value' of another human being, both within themselves and towards others, then the more you will be receptive to those 'feelings'.

It's hard to get a happy message if you take all your phones off the hook and cut down the utility pole. Like anything else, the more you prepare yourself, the more likely you will be to receive what you have prepared for.

Answer 3

I think it's in example. Take children for example. I have two. My daughter is 3, my son is 11 months. They naturally love each other, but I also spend time with them both together and individually. I show my love to them, and they feel that. Amazingly, there is no sibling rivalry between them. Ever since she was mobile, my oldest has been a little mommy. When her brother was born, she wanted to copy everything with her doll. She loves him, protects him, and if he cries and there is a cause, she tries to fix it. I remember he cried once because his father yelled. She looked at her father, and she's a huge daddy's girl, walked right up to him, and kicked him in the leg. Of course, her father being a big kid himself (Ugh) thought it was cute and did nothing.

The point is, if children are taught love, they grow up to love. If children are taught hatred, they grow up to hate.

Answer 4

Love isn't a gift or taught,God is of love it's part of you sense the day you came into this world.People sometimes take the loser way out, and do evil things.

Answer 5

Yes, love can be taught. Love breeds love, and one learns the true meaning of love when one is truly loved by someone.

You cannot teach love in a class, you can teach it to someone only by truly loving him/ her.

Those who love, love everybody - love is an attitude. It is not something special you suddenly feel for someone - that is chemistry.

Answer 6

Love can't be taught, but compassion can.