Though Tina Turner is certainly a great performer, she’s a little off when she suggests in her hit tune that love is either a second hand emotion or a sweet old-fashioned notion. Here are some snippets from an interview with my favorite theologian, Ravi Zacharias, on the always interesting question in life, “What’s Love Got To Do With It?”

“Religion can become such a single-dimension thing that you miss the horizontal. True spirituality is the focus on God and your fellow human beings.”

“There are four fundamental questions to life; origin[where did we come from and why were we created?]; meaning [what shall we do with this life?]; morality[how shall we behave in this life?]; and destiny. [where are we going at the end of life?]“  (The brackets contain my own expansion of these one word questions.)

On discussing atheism’s belief that religion is a crutch, Ravi said this: “If meaningless came from being weary of pain, their belief could have some value, but meaningless comes from an excess of pleasure.”

One of the wonderful things I learned in recovery and later in my Christian faith is that simplicity and service to others will bring joy, and that what we instinctively think we need for happiness–stuff–will not.  Stuff binds us, limits us, frustrates us, and can ultimately destroy us. Look at the sad end of Elvis Presley. He didn’t die like most of us fear we might, lonely and poor. Rather, he died in a house filled with his toys, his servants and everything but love. He did die lonely, and that is true poverty.

It’s easy to say this stuff, but to do it is hard. That’s why I write these blogs, because in a way they serve both purposes. They enlighten or at least encourage people concerning their efforts to serve others instead of just seeing a transformation as a chance to get that bikini butt or those killer abs back. I hope that everyone realizes that the joy from true spirituality transcends any amount of happiness you’ll get from the momentary ideal body that you might develop here.  And, as Ravi Zacharias says, true spirituality is focus on God and service to your fellow human beings. The greatest evidence of love is how you treat someone who can do you absolutely no good.

Make this a day worth remembering. Do something for someone who can’t pay you back, and do it without getting caught. You’ll be so joyful you’ll feel like you’re going to literally pop from it!