Church Chronicles: Ep 4: To Celebrate or Not: Christians & Valentine's Day Debate

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Welcome back to the Church Chronicles with the Diary of a Black Woman podcast,

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where we dive into the history, faith, and traditions that shape our lives as Christians.

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I'm your host, Connie Morris, and today we're wrapping up our series on Valentine's

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Day with a question that many believers wrestle with.

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Should Christians celebrate Valentine's Day at all?

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In our previous episodes, we explored the pagan origins of Valentine's Day and

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the Roman festival of Lupercalia, the transformation of this holiday through the story of St.

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Valentine's, and the contrast between the worldview of love and the biblical perspective on love.

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Today, we're going to bring all this together and address the ongoing debate about Christians,

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about whether it's appropriate to celebrate a holiday with such complex and

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some might say problematic origins.

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Can we honor God by celebrating Valentine's Day or should we avoid it altogether?

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Let's explore the different perspective within the Christian community.

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The ongoing debate among Christians.

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Valentine's Day has sparked such debate within the Christian community.

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Some believers embrace it as an opportunity to celebrate love and strengthen their relationship.

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In contrast, others reject it entirely due to its pagan roots and commercialization.

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So let's start looking at the two main sides of this debate.

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The first one is embracing Valentine's Day.

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Some Christians see Valentine's Day as harmless celebration of love.

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They argue that while the holiday may have pagan origins, it has become rebranded

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over the centuries and now provides an opportunity to focus on love,

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sometimes something that is central to the Christian faith.

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For these believers, Valentine's Day is a chance to express love and affection,

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not only in romantic relationships, but also within families,

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friends, and a broader community.

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Many who hold this view believe that the pagan origins of Valentine's Day have

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been so thoroughly transformed by the Christian story of St.

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Valentine's that the holiday's current form bears little resemblance to its ancient roots.

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They may also argue that the other holidays with similar origins,

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such as Christmas or Easter,

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which we're going to cover in the next months, have been successfully repurposed

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by the church and can be celebrated in a way that honors God.

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I have pros and cons on both. Let's go to the second part.

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I mean, Valentine's Day, embracing Valentine's Day. What is your belief on Valentine's Day?

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Do you believe that we can still celebrate Valentine's Day and repurpose it

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and rebrand it and not worry about the past as long as we focus on God and our

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future and not get caught up in the original purpose? What is your belief?

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Are you one that says forget the past and let's go forward with the future?

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Let's go with the second debate. The second debate is rejecting Valentine's Day as a whole.

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On the other side of this debate, some Christians argue that because of its

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pagan origin, Valentine's Day should not be celebrated at all.

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These points to scriptures like 2 Corinthians 6, 14-17, I think I covered this

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scripture in previous episodes, which caused believers to be separate from the

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world and to avoid being yoked together with unbelievers.

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For these believers, the commercialization of Valentine's Day is another point of concern.

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They see the holiday as being driven more by consumerism than by a sincere celebration of love.

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And they worry that participation in it can lead to a shallow materialistic view of relationship.

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Those who reject Valentine's Day may choose instead to focus on biblical teaching

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about love throughout the year rather than participating in a holiday that they

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feel does not align with Christian values.

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I think if you can show love, I'm not for or against it.

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Valentine's Day for the kids are fun at school. They are passing Valentine's

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Day, showing each other just how to create new friendships in school at that level.

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Showing love at that level is kind of paramount in showing love as adults.

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If you're showing love in your relationships and it's not a show,

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like showing love in your home every day, and then that particular day is something

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that you make a big deal about because that's the way you express love.

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Because Christmas, we celebrate Christmas and we give gifts.

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We give gifts on our birthday.

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And then we, and sometimes Valentine's Day is another great day to give out

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gifts to the one you love too.

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And that's between you and your relationship. How do you celebrate love in your relationship?

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And a lot of times you don't even know about these history of these pagan holidays.

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Put Jesus first and say, Lord, is this proper for me to celebrate my loved one, right?

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I'd be following 1 Corinthians 13 saying, hey, this is how I treat her all the time.

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And this is the outward expression of how I want to treat the person that I

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love, my husband, my wife, my girlfriend, my boyfriend.

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So this is an informative church chronicles.

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I love studying the history of things. And so you decide what that looks like in your world, right?

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I think all the holidays are commercialized, but how does it reflect you?

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Don't you feel pressure to celebrate something? Don't you feel the pressure?

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If you don't want to do it, don't you do it because of pressure.

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But if you want to celebrate the one you love and our expression as part of

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what you've been doing, then you do that.

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This is informative, not to guilt trip you, but to give you information, to give you education.

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Biblical guidance on navigating Valentine's Day. So how should a Christian navigate Valentine's Day?

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Give these different, I'm giving, to give in these different perspectives.

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The answer may not be the same for everyone. Still, these critical biblical

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principles can guide us as we make our decision.

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1 Corinthians 10 31. So whether you eat or drink, whatever you do,

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do it for the glory of God.

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I think I just explained that in a whole different way.

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This verse reminds us that whatever we choose to do, including whether or not

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we celebrate Valentine's Day, we should do it with the intention of glorifying God.

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If you decide to celebrate Valentine's Day, ask yourself, how can I use this

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day to honor God and reflect his love?

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Perhaps this means focusing on the deeper sacrificial aspects of love rather

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than getting caught up in the commercial aspects of the holiday.

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I say amen to that. Let's go to Romans 14 verses 5 and 6. One person considers

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one day more sacred than another.

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Another considers another day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced

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in their own mind, whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord.

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So don't hold someone else. You know how you said, well, I don't celebrate a particular day.

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Don't you be the judge and jury over what someone else celebrates.

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You do you and someone else can do them. You decide what you want to do,

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but don't you be the judge and jury over whatever else does right you to you.

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This passage now that different believers may have different convictions about

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which day I will celebrate.

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And the key is to be fully convicted in your own mind and to make your decision

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with a heart that seeks to honor God.

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Whether you choose to celebrate Valentine's Day or not, do so out of sincere

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desire to please God. not out of a sense of obligation or pressure from the world around you.

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Avoiding compromise. As we discussed in early episodes, the Bible warns us against

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blending pagan practices with Christian worship.

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If you choose to celebrate Valentine's Day, it's essential to be mindful how to do so.

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Avoid practice that will lead to compromising your faith and focus essential

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on ways to express love and consistent with the biblical principles.

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For example, instead of focusing on holiday material aspect,

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consider using Valentine's Day as an opportunity to serve others,

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show kindness, and strengthen your relationship in a way that reflects God's love, right?

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So do you, how do you reflect God's love?

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Do you. Practical ways to honor God on Valentine's Day.

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If you decide to celebrate Valentine's Day, there are many ways you can do that.

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And so follow Holy Ghost for one. These are just my ideas.

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There are many ways you can do to honor God and reflect the true essence of

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the Bible. Here are some practical ideas.

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Number one, focus on biblical love. We covered that in 1 Corinthians 13.

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Use this as a guide, really to grow in your love. If you can go through 1 Corinthians

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13, you can say, I need to grow in some of these areas.

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Make that a time, not just on that Valentine's Day, but it could bring awareness for that growth.

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And you can practice that all through from that day forth.

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And on that Valentine's Day, show that you have grown in that area.

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Make it your personal challenge.

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And then when it's time to express that, they'd be like, wow, babe, you can grow.

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In that area, like make it a challenge, make it a guide, you know, that you want to grow.

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One thing, consider writing a letter or a note to your spouse,

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family member, or friend expressing your love in a way that highlights these

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biblical qualities that they have.

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Express a letter to them. We always go buy a card, but maybe write a personal

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letter to your loved one, your family member on how you notice their growth.

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So make it more personal. Serve others. Instead of focusing solely on romantic

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love, consider using Valentine's Day as an opportunity to serve others.

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This can be through an act of kindness, volunteering, or simply spending time

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with someone who may be feeling lonely or forgotten.

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By doing so, you reflect the selfless, sacrificial love that God calls us to show.

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So that could be a day where you can visit nursing homes or go volunteer at

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a food bank on that particular day as part of your sacrifice to others and serving

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others. Something different, right?

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And then strengthening relationship. Use Valentine's Day as a chance to invest in your relationship.

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This might mean setting aside time for meaningful conversation,

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praying together or finding ways to support and encourage one another.

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Focus on building a foundation of love that's rooted in Christ and his teaching.

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So that can just be like people do make a special day for you and your loved

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one. Maybe that could be people do that already.

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A special date night for you and your loved one.

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A special time that you maybe haven't done it that we're going to start praying together.

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We're going to start finding ways to encourage each other. Something different. Surprise them.

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Avoid commercialism. That's going to be hard, but let's see.

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Be mindful in the commercial pressures that often come with Valentine's Day.

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Instead of getting caught up in the need to buy expensive gifts or participate

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in elaborate celebration, find simple, heartfelt ways to express your love that

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don't rely on materialism.

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And one of the things I just mentioned is write a letter and you can go find

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a pretty envelope or something, you know, put it in there.

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Maybe you can cook dinner at home.

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Something that you don't have to get caught up spending extra money that particular day.

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Or maybe not go on that day. Maybe go a couple of days earlier.

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I don't know how you want to do it. But don't feel pressure to do anything on that day.

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Don't just do it for show. Do it for love. I like that. That could be a t-shirt.

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So as we conclude today's episode, we have explored the complex and often contentious

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question on whether Christians should celebrate Valentine's Day.

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I think if we take away that Valentine's Day title, should Christians celebrate love?

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Yes, they should celebrate love every day. They shouldn't have to wait to a

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holiday, a day that the world created to show love.

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They should go ahead and celebrate love every day. So we looked at the different

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perspective within the Christian community, the biblical principles that should

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guide our decisions and the practical ways to honor God.

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Whether or not you choose to celebrate the holiday, anything you do,

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the Bible says do it all to the glory of God.

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Ultimately, the decision of whether to celebrate Valentine's Day is a personal one.

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It's essential to approach it with prayer, reflection, and a heart that seeks

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to glorify God in all things.

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Whether you celebrate the day as an opportunity to express love or choose to

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focus on other ways to live our biblical love.

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The key is to remain faithful to the teaching of scripture and to honor God in all your actions.

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So once again, thank you for joining me on this journey through the history

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and faith behind Valentine's Day. Wow, we did it.

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I hope this series has given you new insights, encouraged you to think critically

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about the traditions that we observe.

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Thank you again for joining me on Church Chronicles with the Diary of a Black Woman.

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I'm your host, Connie Morris, and I do hope these episodes have helped you to

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navigate the complexities of Valentine's Day and how it fits into your walk of faith.

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As always, I encourage you to seek God's wisdom in all your decisions and to

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live all his love in your relationships every day.

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And if you found these episodes to be helpful, please subscribe,

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leave a review, and share with others who might be interested in exploring these topics.

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I look forward to bringing you more discussions on faith, history,

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traditions, and our future episodes.

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Until then, stay curious, stay

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faithful, and remember, truth is often more surprising than we expect.

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Until next time, bye.