I'll admit, I'm not into Valentine's day, much for the same reasons I dislike Christmas. The commercialization bothers me but even more is the expectation that MEN are the ones that need to romance their wives or girlfriends, and specificaly on this day. What about my needs? Why is there no social expectation for the wives and girlfriends to romance their men? It just doesn't happen; and that's the part that is really turned around here. Men are designed to be reactive, not proactive in emotional matters. That's not a flaw, that's just how God (or evolution if you prefer)made us.
The end result is really that V-day sets us up to fail. Higher expectations than normal. A typical surprise or date just isn't enough, and a great deal more pressure put on men than women in this instance, and I resent it. It says It's not enough that I watch you shows on TV with you even though you won't watch mine with me. It's not good enough for me to surprise you with flowers at work or at home. It's not enough for me to plan dates so we can get away from the kids, no. But plastic hearts and pink teddy bears on Valentines day...that's romance!
On the other hand, the faith thing kicks in. According to the Bible, I'm not allowed to ignore her needs, whether my needs are being met or not, and really, I shouldn't need God to tell me that. It's good sense either way. But it's never going to make me appreciate Valentines day.
The end result is really that V-day sets us up to fail. Higher expectations than normal. A typical surprise or date just isn't enough, and a great deal more pressure put on men than women in this instance, and I resent it. It says It's not enough that I watch you shows on TV with you even though you won't watch mine with me. It's not good enough for me to surprise you with flowers at work or at home. It's not enough for me to plan dates so we can get away from the kids, no. But plastic hearts and pink teddy bears on Valentines day...that's romance!
On the other hand, the faith thing kicks in. According to the Bible, I'm not allowed to ignore her needs, whether my needs are being met or not, and really, I shouldn't need God to tell me that. It's good sense either way. But it's never going to make me appreciate Valentines day.