In my previous article, entitled The story and central theme of Valentine,
I wrote about the life of St. Valentine and what gave birth to the annual
February 14th celebration. The misconception about the person of St. Valentine
and the events leading to his martyrdom has continued to deepen. Very often I hear
people allege that he died for a love type called “Eros” not “agape” and
consequently, does it becomes unworthy to mark that day in his honour. Many
preachers have heard that opinion tenaciously over the years, which make it
even more worrisome. This position of theirs is not farfetched from the spate
of immorality that takes place on February 14th each year. But it is
not still enough justifying reason for that claim.
Even on Christmas days, Easter and other holy days of
obligation, people still sin and commit immorality. I don’t want to sound
apologetic, but I desire to have you understand the integrity of St. Valentine
for which he should truly be worthy of a memorial. I don’t do anything very
special or lovelier on Valentine’s Day because I believe that a good life and a
lovely life should be a daily affair all year round. But on February 14th, I
ponder on the lessons the celebrity leaves behind and allows it to challenge me
into a better life of commitment to just courses.
Let me begin the demystification process by asking a series
of questions: did Valentine actually die for love (Erotic love)? Was he a rebel
and a stubborn person? Did he deserve the death? Did he die for selfish
personal reasons? Was he actually promoting sexual promiscuity and infidelity?
Were his actions contrary to God’s will? Did he on the long run gain anything
financially, materially or physically for his actions? These and many other
salient questions are begging for sincere and objective answers.
Honestly, all of the above questions have a simple answer,
which is an EMPHATIC NO! Valentino did not die for love (i.e. eros). If there
is anything love associated with his death, it must be love for God’s commands,
love for God’s standard and ordinances, love for humanity and the love that
moves a man to defend the institution God Himself has established from the
destructive actions of perverts, tyrants and so called lords who had no atom of
regards for the rights of the populace.
Perhaps, I should remind you that those promising young men
usually conscripted by the government into the army, though occasionally, had
women (basically prostitutes and few other forced against their wills) brought
to them for sexual relations. This moral indecency was initiated to appease the
men, knowing they wouldn’t get married. That means, directly or indirectly, the
government of Emperor Claudius II was perpetuating sexual promiscuity and
harlotry. Valentino didn’t like that; hence, he rose to the task of putting an
end to immorality, by promoting marriage within the ambit of the scriptures.
This just course projected him as a rebel and law breaker before the then
Emperor and the Roman officers. He became the black sheep that had to be
punished. For the purpose of reminder, the followings are the consequences of
the decree, to which Valentino stood in opposition.
a.
The
decree denied the men their rights to the choice of life
b.
The
decree made sexual immorality legal
c.
The
decree increased the number of heart breaks, especially for those already
engaged before the conscription into the army.
d.
The
decree brought names of families which had only one son into the danger of
extinction, since there was no other son to promote the lineage through
procreation.
e.
The
decree was an expression of self reliance and self protection rather than
trusting the Almighty God for security.
f.
The
decree was a direct attack on God’s idea and agenda for procreation.
g.
The
decree was flooded with selfish interests, self aggrandizement, autocracy and
pride, which are indubitably not part of God’s nature.
h.
The
decree engendered single parenting and broken homes for the family of newly
wedded grooms who were victims.
i.
The
decree changed the destiny of young men, stole their sense of fulfilment by
engaging them in a profession other than that which constitutes their passions
and purpose in life.
j.
The
decree brought young men in danger of death against their consent or will;
leaving them without a name, a child, properties or even a legacy.
Dear reader, these were the things St. Valentino saw and
could not dance to the tone of the emperor’s directive. He chose to be
different, to defend the course of his faith and the future of his people. He
fought for the fundamental human rights of his people. He chose to stand for
the truth, justice and service to God through humanity, and that cost his life.
You can now understand that his death was purely sacrificial but not for
anything related to erotic love as some people wrongly claim.
I therefore present to you ten (10) lessons to learn from St.
Valentine:
1.
IDEOLOGY: he was a man of godly principles,
who would not be tossed about by the wind of any man-made decree. He was not
just a priest of God, but one whose ideologies were built on God’s Word. He was
willing to risk his life for his ideology. Today, what is your ideology? What
do you stand for?
2.
UNCOMPROMISING: he was threatened, thrown into
prison, probably battered and assaulted, humiliated, insulted and degraded, yet
he didn’t change his mind, he didn’t condescend to the level of inhumanity. He
remained firm on the truth and his God inspired opinions. In the face of
trials, ridicule, temptations and suffering, will you still proclaim your faith
in Christ?
3.
SELF-
SACRIFICE: All the patriarchs, martyrs and fathers in faith have this
quality in common. He allowed himself to be murdered for the emancipation of
the entire Roman Empire. How much are you willing to give up for the sake of
the gospel or the welfare of those in your neighbourhoods?
4.
PATIENCE: It did not matter how long he spent
in the prison or how much he was misunderstood. He simply was patient with his
captors. How long are you willing to put up with an unrepentant sinning brothers
and sisters?
5.
WALKING IN THE MIRACULOUS: Julia, the daughter of the jailer,
was born blind but had her sight restored by the power of God through her
encounters with St. Valentine. My question is this, how can a man who is on his
way to death because of erotic love walk in the miraculous? By the way, how
many of those who claim erroneously that he died for erotic love, will fall in
love with a blind girl. Moreover, he never knew Julia until he was jailed. Do
you believe that God still performs miracles?
6.
DEDICATION: Part of the duty of a priest is to
join people together in marriage. He was dedicated and was not deterred by the
decree of the emperor. How dedicated are you to your official duties?
7.
FAITHFULNESS: He was faithful to his priestly vows
to stand for truth and integrity against all odds. He was faithful to teaching
ONLY what the Bible says about marriage. How often do you break your vows or
fail to fulfil your promises to God.
8.
PROMOTER OF GOD’S PLAN: He was so addicted to God that he
preferred promoting God’s idea of a holy family to promoting the Emperor’s decree,
though to the detriment of his physical life. I can imagine him speaking aloud
like St. Peter in Acts 4:19, “Am I to obey man or God?” How often do we place
God’s interest before ours?
9.
COURAGE AND BOLDNESS: “... the righteous are as bold as lion”
(Prov. 28:1). It takes a great deal of courage and boldness to stand against a
king’s decree. The apostles understood this reality better, hence they prayed
for boldness in Acts 4:29. It also does not come from hallucinogens, only the
Holy Spirit can make us proclaim the gospel in boldness (Acts 4:31).
Invariably, St. Valentine was full of the Holy Spirit and was bold in defending
his faith. How courageous and bold can you be in upholding the Christian Faith
when those who are of contrary opinions are highly placed over you?
10. GOOD WILL & SERVICE: Not withstanding his imprisonment, St. Valentine was willing
to teach, educate, impact and share his wealth of knowledge and experiences
with little blind Julia. How willing are we to share our knowledge and
revelations of the gospel with others who may be with or with it?
11. SOUL WINNING:
St. Stephen was martyred and thereafter Saul was converted. Jesus was crucified
and billions of people have been converted thereafter. St. Valentine was
executed and Julia, as well as her household became converted to Christianity
thereafter. He was a soul winner even in the prison and most possibly, without
a bible. How many souls have you brought to Christ? What efforts are you making
to win souls for Jesus?
Friend, these are few lessons among
others to learn and ponder on when we mark St. Valentine’s Day (February 14th)
yearly. Even if couples and families are coming together in the name of St.
Valentine, these virtues should form the fulcrum of the celebration. St.
Valentine was not fighting for sex or love but in love for what a family stands
for, from God’s perspective.
The best way to celebrate Valentine’s
Day is not to have sex, it is not to sing “I love you” to everyone who cares,
it does not also end at giving gifts to people as dictated by our varying
abilities, but going all the way to putting smiles on people’s faces, according
justice its rightful place, liberty to all those who are unjustly detained in
our prisons, releasing forgiveness to all our offenders, giving hope to the
hopeless, ultimately making effort to inculcate values and virtues that will
help bring people to God, build a lovely formidable family and a stable society
of law abiding people who are enjoying their rights to the fullest. That is the
true spirit of Valentine.
I will like you
to drop your comments or make you humble submissions too or share this if you
find it worthwhile. God bless you!
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