The Greatest Love Of All

Grace and peace to my fellow strangers and pilgrims, and greetings to those who love the world.

For some reason, the song “The Greatest Love of All” kept coming to my mind yesterday.  I don’t know why that was.  It’s possible that I heard it somewhere without realizing it or perhaps it was subliminally piped into my subconscious.  However it happened, the song kept playing in my mind and, before long, I found myself trying to see how much of the song I could remember.  It turned out that I remembered the whole song, as it is fairly short. 

For sure, it is a beautiful song.  I first heard it sung by George Benson, but the Whitney Houston rendition is by far the most beautiful.  As I sung it to myself aloud, recalling the lyrics, I was surprised at the antichrist message they conveyed.  In fact, “The Greatest Love Of All” is really New Age.  You may find this hard to believe, but a close examination of the lyrics under the lens of Holy writ will bear this out.  Let us closely examine them:

“I believe the children are our future

“Teach them well and let them lead the way…”

The song starts out with a theme that has been repeated time and again in the media for decades: The children are our future, and, yes, we must teach them well.  The song does well up to this point.  However it takes a nosedive when it tells us that we must ‘let [the children] lead the way.’  This is the point where the song starts to go south.  Children cannot lead the way, because they don’t know themselves where they are going, but must be lead by a competent adult, preferably their parents.  The idea that children must lead the way runs counter to the Bible, which says,

“Train up a child in the way that he must go” (Proverbs 22:6).

According to the Bible, a child must be taught the way that he must go, which implies that he has no idea where he is going.  How then, can he “lead the way?”  But it doesn’t end there.  The song continues:

“Show them all the beauty they possess inside.”

The concept that we are all beautiful inside may be beautiful, but it is actually untrue according to the Bible, which teaches:

 “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9).  

and…

“There is none good, no not one” (Romans 3:10).

The Bible teaches that there is no good thing within us, as we are sinful and evil by nature.  This is not only true according to the Bible.  Even a cursory glance at current events reported in the news media as well as the evidence of our own eyes would demonstrate to even the most naïve person that human beings are nothing if not evil.  It may be very encouraging to a child that has been made to feel worthless, inferior, or unlovely to hear that he or she is beautiful, but to stress this to a child is not only unbiblical, but it may be setting the child up for failure by focusing his attention too much on himself.  This may lead to self-absorption, selfishness, and pride.  Speaking of the latter:

“Give them a sense of pride to make it easier…” 

Again, this goes counter to the Word of God.  The Bible teaches that “pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).  2 Timothy 3:1 lists pride among the attributes that characterize the apostasy of the last days.  Pride led to the fall of the great angel Lucifer, who, as Satan, deceived Eve into committing the first sin: a sin for which the world is now paying.

Pride doesn’t make anything “easier.”  Pride leads to destruction, because a prideful person will not admit that he is a sinner in need of salvation.  And, even if he will admit this, he will often think he can save himself through good works of some sort, and the Bible teaches that good works cannot save.  It is only through the precious blood of Jesus that we can be saved.  Pride, therefore, is a hindrance to salvation.

When I reflect on this line, I am left wondering what the “it” is that could be made easier by being prideful.  Could it be going to hell?

 “Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be.” 

The way we used to be was innocent and naive, like all children.  Is the writer suggesting we become as children again?

“Everybody’s searching for a hero,

“People need someone to look up to.”

The writer makes a good point here.  It’s true that everybody is searching for a hero, and therein lies the problem. Did you every wonder why everybody is searching for a hero?  The answer to that question can be gotten by answering two other questions: what is a hero, and what do we do with our heroes?  A hero, for lack of a better definition, is a role model: someone to “look up” to—someone to pattern oneself after.  One usually qualifies to be a hero by accomplishing some feat of courage, bravery, or physical excellence. 

There was a time when our heroes were policemen and firemen, because these put themselves in harm’s way almost on a daily basis for people they don’t even know.  This is no longer true, however, as most people now idolize sports stars and entertainers as their heroes. 

And what do we do with our heroes?  Why, we idolize them.  We worship them.  We buy, sell, trade, and collect action figures of them, cards with pictures (images) of them, and t-shirts or photos with their autographs.  Many follow their heroes around the country and even travel overseas just to get a glimpse of them.  And, in doing all of this, many spend exorbitant amounts of money.  Would you not say that this is a form of worship?  It sure sounds like it to me.  

A hero, then, is an idol, and idolatry is the sin that God hates most.  In fact, according to Romans 1:21-32, once men begin to practice idolatry, they open the door for a bevy of other sins to come in, including homosexuality.

Clearly, then, hero worship is not a good thing.  Why then do we worship heroes?  Because God created us for worship, and if we won’t worship God, then we have to replace Him with something or someone else.  One problem with this is that most, if not all, of our heroes are immoral people, who do not make suitable role models for our young ones.

“I never found anyone who fulfilled my needs.”

“A lonely place to be,

“And so I learned to depend on me.”

This is a puzzling statement.  Just what needs did the writer have that absolutely no one could fill?  When one considers that the only one who could fulfill his needs was himself, it becomes clear that his need was to do whatever he wanted to do.  He is self-ish.

This line actually reveals the antichrist New Age character of this song, for the New Age emphasizes self (self-reliance, self-healing, self-improvement, etc.)  It also emphasizes “personal responsibility,” or the idea that a person should be responsible for himself in all areas of life, including his salvation.  At its core, personal responsibility is merely a code word for self-redemption: the idea that we do not need a Savior.  And if we can redeem ourselves, then we must be gods: another theme of the New Age.  

Again, this is a fulfillment of prophecy, because 2 Timothy 3:2 says that men in the last days would be “unthankful,” and one way that men are being unthankful is not being grateful for Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for their sins.  They prefer to find their own path to heaven.  They will, of course, fail miserably, because Jesus is the only way.

“I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone’s shadows.”

Whether we like it or not, we all walk in someone else’s shadow.  Be it our father, mother, brother, sister, or some other person, very few of us have ever done anything that someone else hasn’t already done.  To decide never to walk in anyone’s shadow essentially means, therefore, to decide not to accept what others have done before us.   But even more importantly, it could mean deciding not to accept what others have done for us, especially Jesus Christ.  The Bible says,

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).  

Jesus came into this world to save sinners by dying on the cross and shedding His blood for your sins and mine.   Those who accept Jesus’ sacrifice not only have eternal life in the world to come, but peace, blessings, and perhaps more importantly, security and safety in the present world.  The Bible says,

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). 

Jesus Christ is God Almighty (Revelation 1:8).  To decide “never to walk in anyone’s shadow” is to refuse the protection of the Most High God.  In these increasingly perilous times, if there is anywhere we need to walk, it is under the shadow of Jesus Christ.

 “If I fail, if I succeed, at least I live as I believe.” 

This is the epitome of pride, and translates to “Do your own thing.”  Frank Sinatra echoed this mantra when he sang, “I Did It My Way.”  This is further proof of the New Age character of this song.  The idea of doing it one’s own way is actually a major tenet of Humanism called Values Clarification, which basically holds that there are no moral absolutes, or right and wrong.  Whatever is right for you is right, and if whatever you thought was right turns out to be wrong, it was merely a learning experience.  No harm, no foul. 

Values Clarification says that anything—even murder­—is right, as long as you believe it is right.  Do you know that there are many (including a former friend of mine) who believe that Hitler was right for murdering millions of Jews because he believed he was doing the right thing?  (Those were my friend’s actual words.)  Values Clarification is dangerous, and it is being taught in almost every grade school, high school, and university in America.  Values Clarification is having a devastating effect on America’s youth, and Columbine is proof.  

The idea that “If it is right to you, it is right” is encapsulated in the saying, “’Do as thou wilt’ shall be the whole of the law,” a saying made popular by Satanist Aleister Crowley in the early twentieth century.  This sentiment was later promulgated by “hippies” in the sixties as “Do your own thing,” and is now being promoted by New Agers in this century as “If it feels good, do it.”  The concept of doing one’s own thing, or one’s own will, is purely satanic, for we are supposed to be doing the will of God. 

“No matter what they take from me,

“They can’t take away my dignity.” 

This is just foolish.  There are many ways to take away someone’s dignity.  Ask any prison inmate, concentration camp survivor, or prisoner of war.  Again, this is just raw pride. 

“Because the greatest love of all is happening to me,

“I found the greatest love of all inside of me.

“The greatest love of all is easy to achieve,

“Learning to love yourself it is the greatest love of all.”

Four times this stanza talks of “the greatest love of all.”  And what is this love?  “Learning to love yourself.”  Once more, this is unscriptural, for the Bible says, 

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

This is the greatest love of all.  Jesus said that there was no greater love than that one should lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).  The Apostle Paul said that we should esteem others more than ourselves (Philippians 2:3).  But the New Age makes it all about us.  This, again, is satanic, and is a fulfillment of 2 Timothy 3:1, which says that in the latter days, “men shall be lovers of their own selves.” 

When men begin to love themselves, they become prideful and self-centered.  They no longer see themselves as sinful creatures in need of salvation.  Ultimately, their hearts harden against God and they fail to even believe that there is such a thing as sin.   Nowhere in the Bible are we admonished to love ourselves, but Jesus said that we are to “love the Lord our God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind” (Matthew 22:37). 

The last stanza of the song reveals its antichrist character: 

“And if by chance that special place,

“That you’ve been dreaming of,

“Leads you to a lonely place,

“Find your strength in love.” 

I propose that the “special place” spoken of here is Heaven, and that the writer believes that looking for it will lead one to a lonely place, in the same way as the writer searched for a hero, and, not finding one, found himself in a lonely place.  He is saying that Jesus Christ did not live up to his expectations and probably won’t live up to ours either.  He suggests that if we find ourselves in this predicament, we should find our strength in “love,” which he says is in ourselves.  In effect, the writer is telling us to look inward and not outward for God, because God is within us.  This is a recurring motif in the New Age and is the actual theme of this song. 

“The Greatest Love Of All” is New Age all day and all night.  Though beautiful, it stresses dependency on self, rather than on the Lord Jesus.  It tells us to look inward rather than outward; to look down rather than up; to do our own thing—to do our will—rather than the Lord’s.  (“Do as thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.”)  When we consider that Satan, in his rebellion against God, five times said, “I will” (Isaiah 14:13-14), it is clear from whence comes this teaching.  To do our own thing is rebellion, and rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.  

Though a beautiful song, “The Greatest Love Of All,” is New Age, in that it suggests that we trust in ourselves and not in God.  This is an antichrist message.

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).

The Still Man

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