People have some twisted ideas about love and God. The music industry is a showcase for this kind of thinking. Tonight, running through my noggin, was the old "Say a little prayer for you"...

The moment I wake up
Before I put on my makeup
I say a little prayer for you...

Forever and ever you'll stay in my life
And I will love you
Forever and ever, we never shall part
To live without you
With only mean heartbreak for me

So that's her prayer life: that this guy would stay in a relationship with her. Because it would hurt her feelings otherwise. (Hey, I'm not saying they're not meant for each other, but it's clear her motives completely revolve around her own feelings of fulfillment.)

Okay, next one:

What the world needs now
Is love, sweet love
It's the only thing that there's just too little of...
There are sunbeams and moonbeams enough to shine
Oh listen, Lord, if you want to know

The Psychic Friends Network promoter is explaining to God precisely what he needs to do to improve the universe. She disagrees with Malthus about whether there are indeed quite enough wheatfields and cornfields, and tells God that he hasn't quite made enough love yet.

Yes, of course. It's God's fault that we don't love another enough. It's not at all because we simply choose not to, or because we cut outselves off from God who is the source of love. Nope. It's not our fault at all. I'm sure God is listening actively for more helpful advice from Dionne Warwick.

Next one, from Soul Man by Sam and Dave:

Throw the rope,
I'll pull you in,
I'll give you hope,
And be your only boyfriend!

Notice how he pledges to her that she will be faithful to him? He doesn't make any committments about his own behavior -- that she will be his only girlfriend, no. He simply pledges that for her, there will be only him.

Mambo Number Five develops this idea further: the singer suggests that many different women "put out" for him, so that, for each "a little bit of you makes me your man" as opposed to "one of your various men". :-) And of course he's not even pretending to be faithful to her. (Perhaps that's supposed to be an improvement?)

The odd thing is, in my experience, women love this song.

Next is the immaculate "Love means you never have to say you're sorry." The best comment I've ever heard on this one was: "What planet is this person from?" For most of us, love means quite a lot of saying you're sorry.

And here's a few deep lyrics from Whitney Houston, that contemporary authority on good behavior. Concerning the rearing of children, she informs us, nauseatingly:

I believe the children are our future
Teach them well
And let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty
They possess inside
Give them a sense of pride

Yes, we're all so incredibly beautiful inside. Epsecially self-centered children. Who need to be even more self-centered and learn how incredibly wonderful they are. How should we relate to our children? We should let them lead the way of course! Rather than expecting us to model good behavior for them.

And when it comes to our own behavior:

I decided long ago
Never to walk in anyone's shadow
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I lived as I believe...

Yes, I'm sure the most important thing there is to live out whatever we happen to believe. It's the same whether we're Mother Theresa or a Nazi; the correctness or morality of our beliefs is not important, only that we live them out.

And what beliefs should we live out? Sadly, Whitney's not going to keep us in the dark on that issue either...

Because the greatest love of all
Is happening to me
I found the greatest love of all
Inside of me!
The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve
Learning to love yourself
It is the greatest love of all

Yes, of course, no greater love has any person then that they should put themselves first and be impressed by themselves. The greatest possible love of all is easy! You just have to love yourself. There's nothing beyond that, folks. Sacrifice? Selflessness? They - don't - exist, apparently. How convenient for Hollywood that we should identify narcissism as the ultimate goal to which we should aspire.

Of course, in reality, researchers have consistently found that high self esteem is linked to violent aggression, crime and poor test scores, rather than low self-esteem as we were taught, apparently by people who forgot to test their theories before dispensing them as fact.

As a counterbalance to all this "wisdom", I'll leave you with a few of my own favorite quotes about love. Contrast with the material above:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
(1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world -- the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does -- comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
(1 John 1:15-17)

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another
(1 John 4:9-11)