Love Languages – not just for romance

I can’t tell you how many times I took the “5 Love Languages” quiz when I was growing up.

If you’re not familiar with this quiz, let me briefly explain. According to the official website, this quiz “will explain your primary love language, what it means, and how you can use it to connect to others.”

Basically, it helps you understand what makes you feel the most-loved and appreciated. There are five different Love Languages that the quiz examines: Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Receiving Gifts, Quality Time, and Physical Touch.

Of course, there’s also the unofficial sixth Love Language: food.

This quiz is commonly used to help spouses better-serve each other through selfless love. However, the website does contain a version of the quiz so that parents can use this information to strengthen their relationship with their children.

Like I mentioned previously, I took this quiz countless times as a young teen. I wanted to know what my personality indicated, and how the results would help me feel more appreciated. Every time I took this quiz, I would boldly proclaim my updated Love Language to my family. After all, they needed to know how to best-love me, right?

As I roll my eyes at my young teenage self, I can’t help but reflect upon my family. I remember hearing my family talk about their own personal Love Languages, but I never gave it much thought.

I truly did love my parents and brother, and I expressed this in different ways. But as I thought more about it, how intentional had I been in expressing love to them in their own Love Language?

Cue the awkward silence.

I get it. A 7-year old (even a 13-year old) isn’t going to sit down and deeply ponder, “how can I be a better servant to my family?” But for us ladies in our early 20’s, our role within our families has changed. No longer is our relationship with our parents one-sided; rather, we now have the opportunity to love them in ways that we weren’t able to when we were younger. And siblings are no exception to this.

We have an opportunity to be intentional in deepening our relationships with our family. For some of us, this may be a simple task. For others, this may be one of the hardest challenges we’ve encountered yet.

Not only can finding ways to genuinely love your family strengthen your relationship with them, but it also brings glory to God. I love how Paul words this in Philippians 2:3-4: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

In John 13:34-35, Jesus said “a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

This isn’t to say that if you don’t know someone’s Love Language, that you’re not loving them at all; but being intentional about how you love your family serves as an example of selfless, sacrificial love.

This week, I want to challenge you, myself included, to think about your family. Do we know what their Love Languages are, or might be? What are some ways that we can be more intentional in how we love our parents or siblings?

I hope that as you learn more about your family, that this will help strengthen your relationships in the present. Not only this, but I pray that your selfless actions will positively impact future generations to come.

 

 

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Interested in learning more about the 5 Love Languages? Follow this link!