There are several vital differences between worldly love and godly love and in this post on worldly love vs godly love, we will discuss these 7 vital differences between them.
Love is a profound and multifaceted concept that transcends human understanding. In the realm of love, there exist two distinct expressions of love: godly love and worldly love.
The Scriptures and bible verses in both the old testament and the new testament shed more light on these various forms of love, providing us with valuable insights into their nature and purpose.
Sadly, the world interprets love based on feelings while God’s word tells us that true love has nothing to do with feelings but is based on actions. This explains why many relationships, friendships, and marriages are breaking down today.
Join me on this journey as we explore the seven key differences between godly love and worldly love so that you can understand what real love is and what it’s all about.
7 Worldly Love Vs Godly Love Differences.
Take your time to explore below the 7 differences between worldly love and godly love which will remind you that real love only comes from God.
- Sources Of Love.
- Unconditional Vs Conditional Love.
- Selflessness Vs Self-Centeredness.
- Temporary Vs Eternal.
- Love For All Vs Selective Love.
- Rejoices In Righteousness Vs Supporting Sin.
- Christ-Based Vs Infatuation Based.
1. Sources Of Love.
One of the major differences you will notice between Worldly love and godly love is the sources they come from. The former stems from human emotions and desires, often driven by self-gratification.
However, the latter finds its origin in the very nature of God Himself. As 1 John 4:8 tells us, “God is love.” It is an outpouring of the divine love that flows from our Heavenly Father through His Son, Jesus Christ.
As we see from the above bible verse, godly love always comes from God as God is that very definition of love. On the contrary, worldly love comes from the world and is based on self.
You need to understand that you can’t show divine love to others on your own without God in your life. This is because we are naturally selfish and self-centered creatures due to our fallen nature.
As sinful humans, we view and think love is based on feelings and what we can get from others which isn’t the case with the Christian love that our Lord Jesus Christ who is love Himself commands us to show to others in John 13:34.
2. Unconditional Vs Conditional Love.
The second major difference between worldly human love and godly love is worldly love is often conditional, relying on external factors such as attractiveness, what we can get from the other person, wealth, or social status.
It often fades when circumstances change or expectations are unmet. In contrast, godly love is unwavering and unconditional.
Romans 5:8 reminds us that God demonstrates his own love for us while we were still sinners and that Christ died for us even when we deserved eternal death in hell.
Tell me of any selfish sinful human being who can love you like that. The answer to that question is none as we are inherently selfish and self-centered creatures only willing to love someone if we are benefiting from that person in some way.
God’s love for us remains steadfast and without any strings attached unlike worldly love, irrespective of our flaws or failures. It doesn’t say that I will only love you if you are like this or if you do x,y, and z for me.
Related: 12 Major Characteristics Of Jesus’ Love {Absent In Human Love.}
3. Selflessness Vs Self-Centeredness.
Another vital difference that exists between godly biblical love and worldly love is the former is pure and selfless while the latter is notoriously selfish and self-centered. One is all about selflessly serving others while the other is about serving self.
It’s why we are told in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 that God’s agape love is sacrificial and doesn’t seek its self-interests which is often the case with human love that is all about me.
Worldly love found in the world tends to be self-centered, seeking personal gain, self-gratification, or pleasure at the expense of another person. In contrast, godly love is marked by selflessness and sacrificial giving.
Jesus Christ exemplified this love when He willingly laid down His life for humanity by dying for our sins knowing we might never love Him back. If many understood this, all these relationship problems we have now in the world wouldn’t exist.
As He said in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Implying, godly divine love always seeks to serve others selflessly by laying down one’s life for another.
4. Temporary Vs Eternal.
The other difference we see between godly biblical love and the love found in this word is worldly love is often fleeting, tied to the passing pleasures of this world (1 John 2:16). It’s also driven by lust, pride, infatuation, fame, or momentary desires.
On the other hand, godly love is eternal and has an everlasting impact on one’s life as it leads to a deeper, meaningful connection and relationship with God and others.
It’s why we are told in Psalms 136:1-9 in the old testament that God’s love endures forever and will be so for all eternity. Implying that the love God has for us will never end as it’s eternal since the beginning of time just as He’s eternal without end.
This is why you must not seek worldly love that is fleeting and temporal as it will not last forever. Instead, always seek God’s love that has no end as it’s the only love that can meet the deepest needs of your soul.
Worldly love due to its fleeting and temporal nature you vainly seek from the world cannot meet the deepest desires of your heart.
5. Love For All Vs Selective Love.
We also see that godly love is all-encompassing and extends to all, including sinners. It reaches out to all the lost, broken, and marginalized, embracing them with grace and forgiveness without any discrimination.
Worldly love, however, is often selective, directed only towards those who meet certain criteria or benefit us in some way. It’s why Jesus Christ says in Matthew 9:13 He didn’t come for the righteous but to save sinners.
From the above statement of Christ Jesus, we see that His love doesn’t discriminate. Even if we are all naturally born sinners unworthy of His love by default, He still loves us, regardless.
It’s why He died a shameful death on the cross for your sins and my sins so that we can be saved from hell. On the contrary, worldly love due to its conditional and selfish nature, can’t do what Christ did.
A person with worldly love only selectively loves a person based on merit and what that person can benefit them. Conversely, a person with godly love loves everyone including sinners whether they deserve it or not as true love is all about grace.
6. Rejoices In Righteousness Vs Supporting Sin.
Also, we see that Godly love unlike worldly love rejoices in the truth and righteousness as we see in 1 Corinthians 13:6, and doesn’t support sin. In contrast, worldly love supports sin or doing evil things and is all about fulfilling evil lustful desires of the flesh.
This explains why there is a lot of moral perversion nowadays in society all in the name of false and perverted love. Sadly, many blindfolded by sin think loving someone means condoning their sinful behavior.
Just look how homosexuality, lesbianism, and sexual immorality are being promoted in society even in the church sadly all in the name of love. Sadly, many so-called fake Christians see nothing wrong with this in the name of love and tolerance.
However, as a true believer who’s separated from this evil world, you need to understand that godly Christian love doesn’t condone sin or sinful behaviors of people but rebukes them.
Implying if real godly love that is pure and righteous is in you and your Christian life, certainly you will not support wrong and evil things. Nor will you condone the sinful behaviors of others be it your friends.
7. Christ-Based Vs Infatuation Based.
Last but not least, godly love isn’t lust or infatuation-based. Implying that the unconditional love that comes from God isn’t based on the external beauty of a person but based on commitment.
Instead, the divine love of God is deep and is based on the selfless love Christ showed us which He also wants us to have for others, especially in our marriage relationships. In comparison, worldly love is all about lust and infatuation.
Just look at the way these so-called worldly romantic movies wrongly portray what real love is all about. It’s why many relationships today don’t last as most people have the wrong impression of what real love is all about.
All you see in these romantic movies is infatuation and people fulfilling the lusts of the flesh considering how immoral most of these so-called romantic movies are (1 John 2:16,17).
You need to understand that true love that’s from God is not about kissing each other as worldly romantic movies want you to believe. Instead, it’s based on Christ and is all about building deep and meaningful relationships with God and others.
Related: 5 Signs Of Agape Love In A Relationship (Based On Christ).
Conclusion.
Understanding the distinctions between godly love and worldly love is essential for all genuine believers seeking to live a Christ-centered life that is a blessing to others.
The Scriptures reveal that godly love originates from the heart of our Heavenly Father demonstrated by the selfless sacrifice of Jesus Christ by dying for our sins.
May we strive to embrace and reflect this agape love in our daily lives so that we become vessels of God’s truth and unconditional love to a world in desperate need of His redeeming grace.
Other Related Articles.
- God’s Love Vs Human Love. 7 Key Differences Between Them.
- 7 Must-Have Qualities Of A Person Who Truly Loves God.
- 12 Signs And Symbols Of God’s Love Signifying True Love.
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