Love as a Weapon

When love is used as a weapon of any kind, can it be called love?

When it is withheld and used as a form of reward/punishment for compliance, that is not loving.  That is manipulation.

You will do this because I love you is the cruelest burden you can lay upon a person.  It implies you owe them because they love you.

Love is a gift to be given freely.  When love becomes dependent upon what the other person does or does not do, then it isn't love at all.  It is a form of possession.  People cannot be possessed.

What if you think the person you love is engaging in self-destructive behavior?  Does that give you the right to demand that they comply with your wishes?  

I always go by the adage "if it's not hurting me, then I let them be."  What if they claim that you ARE hurting them by exercising your free will to live your life as you choose?

I posit then, that is their problem.  What if you have to choose between your lifestyle and their love?

It isn't really love is it; again, it's manipulation.  It also means they are free to do what they want.  If that means they threaten to walk away because you won't comply with their wants, I say let them.

We get so caught up in obligation that most people are forgetful that it is their one life to live too, in a manner of their choosing.

What if someone you love is sick and they won't seek the medical help that you think they should? This could be any kind of sickness, really, short of suicide. Does your love for them give you the right to force them to seek a treatment you desire for them?  

What if they have a disease that is killing them?  Is it not their right to live out their remaining days as they choose?  

I am speaking existentially here, based on personal observations of how people are treated.  From celebrities to those that are close and personal to our lives.  

We hear someone is sick, or their behavior indicates that there may be something wrong with their health and then, all of a sudden we become doctors and diagnosticians.  

People get real ugly when told that the person they love isn't seeking treatment at all.  

I am here to say that is wrong.  I have no idea why it is so hard to just let people be.  I am guilty of it too, and ashamed of myself when I play it that way.  

Just let people live their lives if you claim to love them.  It's not that hard.








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