Is Love the Key?

All you need is love, that is what the Beatles sang in 1967. Love is wonderful! You hear about it all the time. Just walk into a Del Taco and you'll hear some adolescent proclaiming his love for a Macho Beef Burrito or a Chicken Taco Del Carbon. The passion is enough to drive any normal person upon reaching the cashier to announce, "I'LL HAVE WHAT HE'S HAVING!" I want to love that taco as much as that guy!

You'll encounter this passion just about anywhere you go. At Seven-Eleven, you'll meet the postal employee on his break, "I love this drink and you can get it in 64 ounces!!!"

On the way into McDonald's you'll inevitably see the family with three kids hurrying into the store. It is so cute to hear a three year old say "I love hamburgers!" Even the argument he is having with his big sister about whether Chicken McNuggets are better than hamburgers is interlaced with proclamations of love. "Yeah, but I love chicken nuggets!"

Walking through any mall in America you might hear, "I love how that outfit looks on you!"

Such fervor is not limited to the adolescent or child here and there. People of all ages express grand enthusiasm. Perfect examples are visible while stuck in traffic. Just look at the bumper stickers. Bumper stickers proclaim affection for everything under the sun from Dogs and Cats to countries, states and cities. There all there! People are all about their hobbies too! Talk with someone about their newly purchased home and you'll certainly hear something like, "I love my house!"

"I love dogs!"

"I love scuba diving!"

"I love New York, California!"

If love is all you need, it must be something far more important than a passion for a dog, burrito or the mountains.

"When Jesus gave His disciples a new commandment to 'love one another; as I have loved you,' (John 13:34), He gave to them the grand key to happiness in this life and glory in the next.

"Love is the greatest of all the commandments--all others hang upon it. It is our focus as followers of the living Christ. It is the one trait that, if developed, will most improve our lives."

~ Joseph B. Wirthlin, "The Great Commandment," Ensign, Nov. 2007, 30-31

The love that will lead us to true happiness is far more than passion. The English language is something else. We have a single word that can express a passion for one thing while also being the strongest tie to another. I love the English language!

Charity is the answer. Our concerns for our fellow man should be strong enough to motivate our every action. Developing that love for our fellow man, developing our ability to act on honest concern for others' wellbeing is the foundation for true happiness. Putting our own comfort and desires aside, making them subordinate to the needs of others will lead us to that great place and improve our lives significantly.

I love the idea! Honestly, the fissure that spans between what we know we should do and what we do can be significant. We're not going to be perfect. Tomorrow we can promise to do better than we did today. That is where we go from here.

If we all had honest concern for our neighbors, there would be no crime. If we all had charity for our fellow human beings, the world would truly be a better place. People would take care of those unable to care for themselves - we'd all benefit. Selfishness would be a thing of the past.

I do love a good hamburger, though. All this talk about Del Taco has me thinking about lunch, too. I love their burritos and the nachos are a darn good alternative to fries. Of course, there are few places that can rival Del Taco's french fries... I love that place! I share that love with whomever I can too. We can love Del Taco together!