Love In C. S. Lewis 'The Four Loves'

The two greatest biblical commandments speak of love. Jesus said:

‘AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’ The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these (New American Standard Bible, Mark.30-31).

When self is cold, self gets a blanket. When self is hungry, self eats. And Jesus calls everyone to love their neighbor the same as themselves. Neighbors do not only reside next door; neighbors include the addict, the enemy. the entitled one, the selfish, the destitute, and the beggar. It is natural, and quite often easy, for one to love his or her own parents, children, and family because

of the genetic identity that is shared. Humans often love their own friends because they elected and specifically chose who would be included in their lives, and not usually out of duty or obligation. It is much more difficult to love mankind in general. It is a challenge to love the entire human race, especially the unlovable, yet it is the most gratifying love that exists. When one is a recipient of this type agape love, he or she has a natural tendency and desire to share that love with others. This kind of radical love is contagious and spreads quickly. It is a force that cannot be contained. This kind of love transforms communities, breaks down barriers of hate and discord. Even if one does not believe that Jesus is God, or does not believe in God whatsoever, it is undeniable that Jesus of Nazareth set an incomprehensible example. His influence and acts of love still moves in hearts two thousand years later. He taught about loving others, not just the Jews who were his people. Jesus transcended cultural norms and was not above spending time with the outcasts. He built relationships with sinners, he loved them, and he offered them hope. He set one of the earliest examples of how humans could coexist with love being the tool and guide. This doesn’t define how each action in life is good or bad, but it inspires others to allow love to dissolve selfish interests, recognize behaviors that hurt others, and to share the compassion they have experienced by way of love.
As once said by C.S.Lewis, “Love is unselfishly choosing for another's highest good” (quoted in Lewis).

In The Four Loves, he describes love that humans often seek in romantic relationships and friendships called “need love,” which is often a void that desires to be filled in one’s life. In contrast, he describes “gift love,” in which he claims humans have an abundance of joy and goodness that is desired to be shared and given to others. He believed that the need love was a preparation for the gift love, and that the gift love was the ultimate purpose in life. He believed that need love gives humans the ability to love more generously and sacrificially in the charitable pursuit of others’ well-being, securing the good life God has designed. “Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained” (quoted in Meilaender

60).
In history, many have risked their own lives for the sake of others. True love recognizes the value of human life and the role each person plays in making this world a place where all people can live in harmony regardless of race, beliefs, gender, or societal ranks. Although Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. used Christian social ethics and the concept of Christian love in his writings and speeches, he was also influenced by Eastern spiritual traditions, Gandhi’s political writings, Buddhism’s notion of the interconnectedness of all beings, and Ancient Greek philosophy. He spoke against hate and encouraged love this way:
[...]the oppressed people of the world must not succumb to the temptation of becoming bitter or indulging in hate campaigns.

To retaliate in kind would do nothing but intensify the existence of hate in the universe. Along the way of life, someone must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate. This can only be done by projecting the ethic of love to the center of our lives (qtd. in Mackinnon 532).

Dr. King pointed out that the love he is referring to is not the sentimental or affectionate sort, “it would be nonsense to urge men to love their oppressors in an affectionate sense,” he recognized. Greeks called this type of love agape. King explained it this way:

[...] understanding, redeeming good will for all men. It is an overflowing love which is purely spontaneous, unmotivated, groundless, and creative. It is not set in motion by any quality or function of its object… Agape is disinterested love. It is a love in which the individual seeks not his own good, but the good of his neighbor. Agape does not begin by discriminating between worthy and unworthy people, or any qualities people possess. It begins by loving others for their sakes. It is an entirely “neighbor-regarding concern for others,” which discovers the neighbor in every man it meets. Therefore, agape makes no distinction between friends and enemy; it is directed toward both. If one loves an individual merely on account of his friendliness, he loves him for the sake of the benefits to be gained

from the friendship, rather than for the friend’s own sake. Consequently, the best way to assure oneself that love is disinterested is to have love for the enemy-neighbor from whom you can expect no good in return, but only hostility and persecution (quoted in Hammond 651).
King continued to argue that at the heart of agape love, is forgiveness and understanding:
Agape is not a weak, passive love. It is love in action… Agape is a willingness to go to any length to restore community… It is a willingness to forgive, not seven times, but seventy times seven to restore community…. If I respond to hate with a reciprocal hate I do nothing but intensify the cleavage in broken community. I can only close the gap in broken community by meeting hate with love (quoted in Hammond 651).
Martin Luther King made it clear that we all have a human and moral responsibility to bear in the search for social justice. Dr. King once made a statement about what he would like said of him at his own funeral. He requested that his personal awards and accomplishments not be spoken of, but:
I’d like somebody to mention that day, that Martin Luther King, Jr tried to give his life serving others. I’d like for somebody to say that day, that Martin Luther King, Jr tried to love somebody. I want you to be able to say that day, that I did try to feed the hungry. And I want you to be able to say that day, that I did try, in my life, to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say, on that day, that I did try, in my life, to visit those who were in prison. I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity (quoted in King).
Even when faced with the reality of death, Dr. King continued to display the importance of love and the recognition that it was central to what he believed. The type of love that he taught and gave so freely was infectious. When one loves another, one who is undeserving, it is received as a transformational gift. For every action, there is a reaction. And the results of his love redeemed hope in mankind. The need for moral laws dissipate when love abounds. Love unites, accepts, and understands.
Nietzsche suggested that the love of humanity is often an attempt to escape from one’s own life or motivated by self-hatred (Conway and Groff 290). Freud wrote, “not everyone is worthy of love” and claimed that the loving mankind as a whole was a defense mechanism to avoid the difficulties that personal relationships bring (744). Both philosophers often rejected the suggestion of loving one’s own enemies. Many people have ever experienced agape love, therefore unable to comprehend it. To believe in love’s power one must experience it personally, have faith, or witnessed its power on others. There are countless individuals in this world who have never been the recipient of such love. People who have experienced love begin to value the lives of others, even their enemies. It is negligent to not recognize that the root of the problem is hate, and the solution to moral dilemmas is love.
Division and strife in the world is a result of humans placing themselves or others into categories of belonging to a particular ethnic group, religious sect, social class, and so forth. These unique fabrics of humans are all seamed together often without awareness of it. It is in those seams where love abides, and where mankind is able to find healing and understanding. To live together as colorful creatures, it is necessary to have peace, order, understanding, acceptance, and truth. It requires sacrifice, kindness, and compassion. Love provides all of these necessities, not only in personal and communal settings, but beyond the boundaries that hate created. And in learning to love others, as Kierkegaard said, “Don’t forget to love yourself”(quoted in Ryan 103).