Pastor Cornelius Lindsey is challenging people to examine their love lives this Valentine’s Day.

The pastor who leads The Gathering Oasis Church with his wife Heather Lindsey did not mince words when asking people if they were settling in their relationships outside of the covenant of marriage.

“Being made a priority shouldn’t be optional especially if you’re sharing your life and body with someone. Why choose to live together, have sex with one another and share other intimacies without true covenant and commitment,” he questioned on Instagram. “Are you okay with being treated as sloppy seconds?”

The preacher and father of three helped people examine the root of their relationships, questioning if they did not feel valued or take their relationships seriously.

“Do you devalue yourself to such a point that you’re willing to give yourself away for free without anyone having to honor you and God for what s/he says s/he loves? Or, is the relationship just recreational for you,” he asked. “You’re willing to lower your standards—or have none at all—just to be accepted and/or affirmed by someone who doesn’t truly honor you enough to commit to you in covenant.”

He suggested a practical exercise that may help people work through their relationship issues.

“With Valentine’s Day approaching it’s imperative to ask yourself exactly what you are and are not willing to tolerate in the name of ‘love,’” he said. “(Write) those things down so you can see them. Because the love I know isn’t confusing!”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtyNJppgyjC/?hl=en

The preacher reminded people about what they should not be tolerating in relationships.

“It isn’t dishonorable, sketchy or foolish. It doesn’t make you feel insecure on your back; no, it makes you stand confident on your feet,” he said. “ It honors the innermost parts that you’re willing to share. It covers your naked finger before it asks to see your naked body.”

For the husband and father, relationships are about sacrifice.

“It makes you a wife/husband before it makes you a mother/father. It loves at all times,” he said. “It’s willing to sacrifice itself and its desires for what’s right, not what’s convenient! It’s willing to be disciplined and self-controlled.” he said. “And, the originator of love—our loving God—is the blueprint we must follow. He doesn’t make you sloppy seconds, so why would you tolerate it from anyone else? Think on this.”

 

(Photo: screen grab)