Ordo Amoris: The Order of Loves

Introduction:

The biggest problem with humanity in the West, East, and Southern Hemisphere is not a lack of knowledge, or education, health, science, or food.  It is not poverty or even outward manifestations of evil.  Rather it is a disorder of Loves. 

The same can be said for men.  The main problem of modern masculinity is not effeminate men, though that is a problem, nor is it the joy of sport, or fighting, nor is it the compulsion to spread our seed, neither is it a desire to conquer.  It is not intellectualism nor is it desire to work with your hands. 

No the problem is the Order of Loves or should I say passions. 

When our order of loves is misaligned, we find that we can love what is good in a very evil way and thus turn what is good into an evil caricature of itself.

Example:

The Bible is clear God desires we live justly in the world and that means we take care of those who do not have. 

Micah 6:8, James 1:27

The Bible is also clear that a man who does not feed his family is worse than an unbeliever.

1 Tim 5:8

Both of these ideas are good and as men we are called to live both of these principles out but the question is which of the two is a higher priority or should I say, higher in the hierarchy? 

If my family is in need do I choose my kids and wife or do I choose the stranger who is in need?

If my family is taken care of and I see a stranger in need and have the means to help should I? 

THE TEACHING OF JESUS ON THIS IS CLEAR BUT IT OFTEN USED TO MUDDY THE PICTURE.

WHO IS YOUR NEIGHBOR.

Luke 10:26-37

JESUS DEFINES NEIGHBOR THROUGH PROXIMITY. 

THOSE CLOSEST TO US THEN THE CIRCLE MOVES OUTWARD.

ALL THREE MEN WERE IN THE SAME PROXIMITY TO A PERSON IN NEED. 

HOW DO I LOVE MY NEIGHBOR? I TREAT THOSE IN CLOSEST PROXIMITY TO ME AS I WOULD WANT THEM TO TREAT ME. 

Case Example:  A missionary is in need of $ to help Africans hit by a earthquake – This is good.   But at the same time your church member needs financial help because their house burnt down.  You only have the financial means to help one.  Which one is closer in proximity?  That is your neighbor.

Example:

Safety is a human value that is built into our DNA. 

Freedom is a human value built into our DNA

Which should be placed higher in value and love and why?

Marriage was created by God to be one man and one woman joined together for life in a covenant between them and God. 

Gen 2 and it was and is a good thing men should love.

Sex was created by God for both pleasure and procreation.  It is a good thing and men should love it. 

Which of these two is to be placed higher and why?

Answer:  The answer to this is found in the order of creation.  For Adam which came first in the order of God’s gifts to him.  Marriage or sex? 

Marriage and thus sexual relations is a subcategory of covenant marriage.

What happens when we men get this out of order?

What happens when we love our pleasure above the woman God has given us?

Ok, let’s do a harder one.

Example:

Children and Wife.  Of these two which is higher in the priority of loves?

Eph 5:22-33, Eph 6:1-4

What kind of problems are created when we get this one out of order? 

What is the benefit for our children when this one is placed in proper order?

You might remember a couple weeks ago, when our VP Vance argued for seeing America being taken care of first before the rest of the world by quoting the Doctrine Ordo Amoris.

It caused a great stir.

This Doctrine was first structured by Saint Augustine and is all over scripture.  Later Saint Thomas Aquinas built on Augustine’s teaching.  Augustine wrote a work on this very topic called The City of God where he compares the kingdom of man and the Kingdom of God. 

“The good make use of the world in order to enjoy God, but, the evil in contrast, want to make use of God to enjoy the world.”

Augustine discovered a great truth, it was not an outside force that caused original sin but rather an inward will to love the lesser over the greater.  Adam chose Eve over God, he chose himself over Eve, and this downward motion of the will to displace the order of loves is what we call the “Fall”. 

The deception of the enemy is not simply to get you to believe a lie but to get you to reorder the proper order of loves.  Evil is loving lesser goods above greater goods and turning the God given hierarchy of love into chaos.

C.S. Lewis remarks, a man in the grips of lust who wants a woman actually does not want a woman at all. What he wants is an object that will gratify his animalistic desire.  If he desired a woman, he would want everything that attends her, such as a house, children, and a stable relationship.  “At the highest intensity of desire, he is the farthest from loving the woman as a woman.”

 IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO SET OUT A COMPLETE AND FULL IMAGE OF A HIERARCHY OF LOVE. 

So let me try to give you a visual that takes into account some of the most important aspects and then we can talk through it and maybe fill in some areas.

Every good thing God has given us is to bring us deeper into worship and love towards God. 

· Sexual relations move from using your spouse as a means of gratification to an act of worship to God.

· Every moment the good and the bad with our children is an opportunity to worship God and to see His love in our children as His gift.

· Every business decision is an opportunity to order our loves and place God at the center, whereby He is worshiped and we no matter the outcome take pleasure in His abundance.

· Family discipline moves from creating good citizens or children that behave to ordering our household around the love of God and building disciples of Jesus.

· How I love my wife is to be an illustration to her and to all that see us as the love of Christ towards His Church.  Self-sacrificing, bringing holiness into the home, leading as a priest, washing her with the Word of God.

· Nature goes from an Idol or a tool to a gift that allows us to see the invisible attributes of God.  We enjoy God in nature rather than exploit nature for our joy.

· My citizenship is an opportunity to honor God by seeking the good of my fellow citizens through governmental order that reflects the Kingdom of God.  Rather than exploiting Govt for my own good pleasure.

If we make it a priority to center our lives on God, the order of loves which God created will fall in place.  But if we ever elevate one of the good loves to the role of a god the entire order is thrown into chaos.