By Frank Tietie
It’s Saint Valentine’s Day so let’s talk about love. Much of what I knew about love came from the lines of pop music of the 70s, 80s & 90s. All of those lines are still in tact in my mind since 1979 as a 6 year old to date.
I ventured into metaphysics for a while and later joined the born again movement in my early university years before I became an activist, then I truly realized that God is love. Thus, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. The One and only God that men call upon in worship of His magnificence and power is described by the holy writ in one word: Love.
Nothing to me, better describes the love of God like the entire hymn, ‘ All Things Bright & Beautiful…’ by
Cecil Frances Alexander. I urge everyone to take a look at those verses. Such wonderful expressions of truth about the goodness contained in the world that we are living in.
Alexander in his hymn urges us to take a look at the flowers that open, the purple headed mountains, the rivers running by, the little birds that sing in the morning and to think that God made their glowing colours and their tiny wings.
More importantly, also take a look at the beauty of the human being, particularly the inscrutable beauty of the woman. Can anything be more lovely? God is indeed good! Always good! So let’s clap for Him with careless fervour as one would when cheering one’s favourite football club that just scored a magnificent and almost impossible goal.
Beyond a shadow of doubt, God is good because He is love. Like the Pentecostals would say, ‘I caught a revelation of this!’. Hence, whatever is done in the name of love is good. This accounts for who I have become and what I now do for a living. “Love’s the only rule”, Bon Jovi says.
Selfishness is the opposite of love. Self-centred people are hardly able to tell a person, “I love you”. It is even difficult to say in married relationships. You know why? Couples are just too full of themselves. In fact they are so consumed in the cocoon of themselves, conscious of only their personal needs and do not wish to be vulnerable. In Africa, it is nearly an anathema for many to say the words, “I love you”. Many others who know the value of telling someone, “I love you” have preferred to exploit it without meaning. I quite like Davido when he said: ” _I love you nor mean say, make I put my hand for fire.._ .” Such ambivalence yet so reflective of the reality.
Catholics all over the world must be excited that the 2021 Saint Valentine’s Day has fallen on a Sunday. Just like Christmas and Easter have been detracted from by skewed popular cultures, February 14 has been reduced to the bright colour of red, pictures of beautiful art of hearts and some expectation of a coitus that is out of this world. Well, should I say that’s fine but we shouldn’t lose the real meaning. So where are the Catholics? They should come and save Saint Valentine’s Day. It is such a precious gift to the world.
Meanwhile, I love you! Like I really want to mean it.
So I am wishing you a Happy Valentine’s Day!
▪︎ Tietie, Human Rights Lawyer, writes from Abuja, and sent this via WhatsApp