The Power of Infatuation

Infatuation is one of those feelings that can outpace my higher powers of the soul and determine my perception of my neighbor. If the mind agrees with the resulting image and finds it useful and good, then this feeling begins to strengthen and develop.

It is worth noting that feelings and control over them cannot be the same in different age periods and differ greatly from each other in five, fifteen and fifty-year-old people. And what is clear to me at 50 can be a difficult task at 15.

Any God's gift is pure in its nature and implies the most correct goals and objectives. Nothing in my body was conceived for curse and misfortune. But sin came into the world and began to pervert everything, acting contrary to God's laws. My human nature decided to become an ally of God's enemy and embody in life what destroys my soul, but can bring temporary pleasure. The enemy of the soul took my lust of the flesh and lust of the eyes and called them love. He began to impose on the whole world his model of behavior, giving it a romantic appearance and intimate coloring. The carnal nature of man supported this view of life and quickly adapted to such an attitude between people. And to strengthen this base feeling at its height, it was given the name "love at first sight." To love a person pleasant to you is not a sin, to fall in love with him at first sight and love him forever is wonderful when you have a pure heart and a pure source of thoughts, which is based on Christ. However, to mask its destructive properties, the carnal nature appropriates God's names and presents its abominations as good and benefit for the soul.

Let's talk about appetite. This is a wonderful property that delights the heart at the sight or thought of healthy food. Where then did gluttony and satiation come from, which have become the curse of the age?

Sexuality is God's gift and plan for beautiful relationships within the family. But we see corruption, lust and perversions from all sides, and such a spirit penetrates even into the life of believers.

Infatuation has also not escaped the attacks of the evil one, and therefore it should be separated from the worldly and purified from defilement, so as not to perceive this God's gift as a source of many troubles.

Infatuation is not agape love, but it is like the tip of a sharp needle, which can quickly penetrate into the most inaccessible places of the human soul and bring with it the connecting threads of God's love, which will unite lonely hearts in a strong union of love and friendship. And in some cases, infatuation even contributes to the creation of beautiful family relationships.

When I was sewing on a sewing machine and discovering the secrets of this science, I found that sewing needles have different thicknesses, and for each type of fabric a certain needle size is needed. There are also needles with a round tip so as not to tear the sewing fabric, but gently bypass the threads without damaging them with their point. Such stitches are good because if you make a mistake, you can undo the seam without finding damage to the fabric, and sew it again. Also, God's gift of infatuation has a very gentle tip, which entering someone else's life, does not destroy it and does not tear the neighbor's soul to pieces, but skillfully makes seams, fastening hearts with true love. And if the seam is wrong, it can always be undone and sewn in another place.

If infatuation was directed at the wrong person, whose appearance does not correspond to the content, then the mind receives the necessary command and blocks further actions of love, so as not to waste heavenly resources in vain. Jesus taught us not to give holiness and pearls to those who can do us evil through this.

Infatuation is very selective, and over the years it acquires special strength, having experience of past victories and retreats. It can fall in love many, many times with a beloved person to bring special joy to his soul, using the entire arsenal of good thoughts and feelings, giving hormonal coloring to its actions, which brings indescribable pleasure to the infatuated heart and adorns the life of the beloved friend.

If we take as a basis that we are created in the image and likeness of God, then the conclusion immediately follows that God has infatuation and is capable of falling in love. It is not for me to decide how He does this, but I am glad that He perfectly understands what is happening to me when I fall in love and seek opportunities to share this gift with the object of my sympathy. I think that in this gift the Lord put a special sense of humor, so that together with His good angels He could admire how His children in purity of heart study each other, build strong relationships and bind themselves with strong bonds of heart attachment, rejoicing that they have found each other and can move on to more serious relationships.

At some point of infatuation, my will decides to ascend to a higher level of relationships and begins to make a choice to love a person and reveal his heart precisely at this level. Such a transition may not have deep awareness, but is able to automatically lead me to love in relationships, if the heart is taught to love. Also, infatuation does not die in this process, but goes into waiting mode, in order to attack from around the corner at the right time and deliver much joy with its unexpected lunges.

I do not plan how and when to fall in love, but when I hear this call of the heart and see the purity of thoughts, then I allow these good feelings to manifest themselves in useful action, which I rejoice in myself and delight the heart of a friend.

The prospect of infatuation with God is very pleasant to me. This is something abstract in description, but effective in relationships. Infatuation cannot be planned and predicted. I cannot say that tomorrow at 10:00 I will manifest myself in another bout of feelings. All this comes naturally and sometimes unconsciously, to quickly accomplish what I will not have enough wisdom or strength for. I cannot plan my infatuation with God, but I am able to tune my heart to this and ask the Lord to bless me in this feeling and reveal Himself to me as One in Whom I could truly fall in love. I think He will be pleased to hear about such plans, and He will certainly help.

When I live and work in a community of like-minded people, then I get to know people closer, and my heart can choose the one who is pleasant to me and especially close in spirit and character traits. In such acquaintance with people, infatuation becomes an inevitable phenomenon and manifests itself from the best side, avoiding errors of ignorance. The person has been comprehensively tested, examined, identified as reliable, and as a gift for his humanity, he has the right to receive God's gift of my special attitude toward him.

It is difficult to determine how long infatuation lasts, and where it transitions into love, or where it ends. In some cases, it is like rocking on waves, now at the peak of its manifestation, now going into waiting mode, to raise its head again and fall upon its neighbor. And in some case it runs into an impregnable wall and decides not to take it by storm, but quietly leaves.

1. Please read: Gen. 1:26-27; 29:17-18; Eccl. 3:11; 1 Sam. 18:1-3,20,28-29; Esth. 2:17; Mark 10:21; Song 1:12-16; 2:2-3,16; 4:7; 5:10,16; John 14:21; 1 John 4:7; 3 John 1:2; Rom. 9:25-26; Eph. 5:1; Mark 1:11; 9:7 in light of this topic.

2. What did you understand from this topic?

3. What other verses from the Bible came to your mind?

4. Have you begun to look at infatuation differently after these lessons?

5. Can you now distinguish carnal infatuation from infatuation and not confuse them with each other?

6. What words can be used to call carnal infatuation differently?

7. Why did the Lord give people this gift?

8. Is it worth being careful, understanding that you are falling in love with someone you like?

9. Can infatuation grow into agape?

10. Are you not confused in the definition that infatuation is not agape, but it can transition into it?

11. What should I do if I have not yet fallen in love with anyone, and do not understand what this is about?

12. Can a person program himself for infatuation?

13. What should you do if you have fallen in love after all? Is it worth fighting this?

14. If I notice that my good feelings incline me to lustful thoughts, then how should I understand such a gift from God?

15. Is it necessary to have a head to manage one's feelings?