LOVE LANGUAGES

It’s the month of February and with every whisper love is audible. Don’t get exhausted just yet. Cupid Aima would also love to converse with you on love - particularly its languages.

Welcome to Aima’s Writing. Today’s article is for you. Whether you’re a single pringle or an Oreo, I need you to stick with me till the very end as we explore the love language's meaning.

Love has characteristics. 1 Corinthians 13 tells us what love is and what it isn’t. It tells us that love is patient and kind. It is hopeful and enduring. It is not jealous or proud. It is not selfish nor is it a keeper of wrong. Love is sacrificial and love is beautiful.

In that same train of thought, love has a language. There are primarily five ways to communicate these characteristics of love. Hence, the mock of the word language.

According to Dr. Gary Chapman, these 5 love languages are words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service, physical touch, and receiving gifts.

I’m guessing you know this already and this article is not a love language test, so I’ll wrap up the lecture. However, if you’re one of those people who don’t know their love languages, then uhmm, you might want to read the book or take a love language quiz.  The rationale behind that is simple.

It’s unfathomable for a person to not know the kind of languages they speak. More like unrealistic even. There is a clear difference between the inability to speak a language and ignorance of the languages you speak. Again, the latter is very unrealistic. So, this is the end of class, but this is also your sign to take the 5 Love Languages quiz.

Now, to the crux of this short piece, the question is what kind of love do you express and what kind of love do you receive?

Tonight, we are performing two operations.

OPERATION ONE is a simple procedure to be performed on you by our lead surgeon, Cupid Aima. Knowing your love language is important but, to what end do you speak that language? This procedure is called a heart check. Check the intent of your heart every time you "show love".

People share sentiments whenever a believer says physical touch is their love language. A lot of us believe it comes with an erotic undertone. I'm not here to deny or assert that, I'm here to elucidate the part that wears a veil. Do you realize that any of the five love languages could be used to convey erotic desires? The language is not the problem, the heart of the speaker is. 

Where are my Naija folks at? Let's use pidgin English as a case study. Depending on how you say it, "Ehen" can be used to express different emotions. Disagreement, agreement, shock, worry, name it. A similar thing occurs in the Yoruba language with a word like Ife. Even in the English language, a sentence can either be a statement or a question depending on how it is said. 

Dearest Aimazon, what is the posture of your heart whenever you speak the language of love.

Is it pure?

Even without me saying, every individual always knows the answer to that. It's communication for crying out loud. Naturally, we think before we speak and the rule doesn't change with love. 

So, what kind of love are you expressing? Are you spending quality time for ulterior motives? Are you buying that gift with the hope that you can get that thing in your mind in return? Why have you turned into a service provider? What do you want to achieve with your poetry?  

If you speak love with the intention to communicate any characteristics otherwise scripturally stated, then I really pray that this surgery was successful. 

Having prepped the theater, it is time for OPERATION TWO. How do you receive love? You know a person can be saying a thing, and you're literally hearing the opposite. Yeah, that's what we need to operate on. Before we start, let's consider some underlying health conditions. In most cases, the kind of love you have allowed in the past is a determinant of how you receive love currently. 

Oh Dios Mio. Help me. 

Dearest reader, please stop tolerating nonsense. Stop it. Like, immediately no. Don't even allow it. 

Regardless of the love language the person speaks, if you've been with people who did too little, you would naturally believe your partner, or even your friend, is doing too much when it might just be the bare minimum.

This disparity in speaking and receiving exists for a lot of reasons. Sometimes, it is because we don't even speak our own language, but other times, it is because of the kind of love we are used to. So, we only know one way to receive love. This operation is to get rid of the clog blocking the smooth flow of love. 

So much to say, but, I'll end with this. It is 1 Corinthians 13 or nothing and that is the standard for both the speaker and the hearer. After all is said and done, we only love because He first loved us. Demonstrating love the right way is just as important as receiving the love the right way. So, what is your love language, and to what end do you speak that language?

This is Aima putting on the pen cap but lastly, I just want to pray for that person who needs to heal from hurt. The wounds in your heart are closed up today in Jesus Name. You deserve true love, and you have the perfect template in Christ.

Happy Valentine's Day in advance. I'll see you in the comments and in the mentions. Byeeeeee.