Love is treated so casually any more, unfortunately in the United States we have limited ourself to love, like, dislike and hate. I truly wish we had the Greek words for love! Now we can love pizza, love a sport, love a city, love our children, love our spouse, but all we have is one word for it. When I hear the word "love" used so freely it irritates me! Do we need a measuring scale to rate love? Let's see, pizza is a 5, football is a 7, and our family is a 9 and God is ...hmm, some wouldn't even begin to put a level for their love of God. They know they "love" Him, but they LOVE so many things! They love their new car, they love Spring, they love the weekend, they love to go out to eat, they love vacations. Surely I've named at least one thing in here that you have claimed to love, what level do you love it?
In the Ancient Greek language they had four distinct words for love: agápe, éros, philía, and storgē. What I would give to have such distinctions in the English language! But in our language we have given into slang that degenerates our society and degrades our intelligence. Now it's more popular to use terms given to us by a rap singer than it is to use words that actually have meanings. No wonder our society is losing sight of right and wrong, we can't even use words correctly! If we aren't able to converse intelligently how can we expect to be held to any standard? We aren't even able to articulate a standard.
For those interested, the meaning of the words for love are:
Agape~is used in the biblical passage known as the "love chapter", 1 Corinthians 13 (Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails), and is described there and throughout the New Testament as sacrificial love. Agape is also used in ancient texts to denote feelings for one's children and the feelings for a spouse. However these days there are many that claim love for family and it probably fits more into a different category. Agape love would not divorce or neglect a loved one.
Eros~ is passionate love, with sensual desire and longing. The Modern Greek word "erotas" means "intimate love;" however, eros does not have to be sexual in nature. Eros can be interpreted as a love for someone whom you love more than the philia, love of friendship. It can also apply to dating relationships as well as marriage. Although eros is initially felt for a person, with contemplation it becomes an appreciation of the beauty within that person, or even becomes appreciation of beauty itself.
Philia~ means friendship or affectionate love in modern Greek. It is a dispassionate virtuous love. It includes loyalty to friends, family, and community, and requires virtue, equality and familiarity. In ancient texts, philos denoted a general type of love, used for love between family, between friends, a desire or enjoyment of an activity, as well as between lovers.
Storge~ means "affection" in ancient and modern Greek. It is natural affection, like that felt by parents for offspring. Rarely used in ancient works, and then almost exclusively as a descriptor of relationships within the family. It is also known to express mere acceptance or putting up with situations, as in "loving" the tyrant.
I would eros to have these in our vocabulary, I storge chocolate, I agape God, I eros Lane, I philia the United States! Next time I hear I love you, I may ask which of the four are you referring to? Statements of love given casually are usually closer to "I like you"(for now!). Consider that before you give statements of love yourself, be a person of integrity in speech and in deed.
**Definitions of Greek words are from non other than http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_words_for_love **
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