Becky Sargent/The Falcon

I found something terribly disturbing on my cell phone yesterday. It was located in the quick notes file.

For those unfamiliar with quick notes, they are simply pre-typed text messages that come programmed into your phone. This handy feature lets you send generic messages like "When's the meeting?" or "Call me later" in a matter of seconds.

I was scrolling through my quick notes and reading these bland little messages when I came across the aforementioned disturbing item. It was the last quick note in my folder, and it read, "I love you too."

What's wrong with expressing love? Am I just the hard-hearted Valentine's Day version of Scrooge? I certainly hope not.

I simply have a problem with turning love into a quick note. Love might be the very best thing on this little blue planet, but I fear it's losing its meaning.

When it takes less than 10 seconds to send a love message to everyone in your phone book, something is not right. Yet, there is more and more evidence of the disturbing overuse of a once meaningful word.

It can be heard in Gwinn all the time, and I suppose I'm even guilty of it myself. If someone brings me a bowl of Lucky Charms, I respond with, "Oh, my gosh, I love you."

When friends part ways to go to class, a simple, "See you later" isn't good enough. Instead, I often hear "OK, bye, I love you."

If we end up at the salad bar with a friend we haven't seen in a few days, we squeal, "Hey, I love you."

And, of course, we've all seen the word "love" (or its cutesy abbreviation, "luv") splattered across e-mails, Facebook.com and text messages.

Perhaps we're just trying to live out Christ's commandment to love one another, but I don't think saying, "I love you" to everyone we meet is exactly what Jesus had in mind. I have a sneaking suspicion that love is better shown than told.

When we use the word "love" so flippantly, is it really what we mean? In his book "God in the Dock," C. S. Lewis writes, "Love is not an affectionate feeling, but the steady wish for the loved one's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained."

Would we really do anything in our power to obtain the ultimate good for someone we just met? It's pretty doubtful. But will we send them a love quick note? Sure.

In a way, it's admirable that we are so eager to express affection for our fellow man. Really, the problem is with our restricted language.

We English-speakers have only one word for love. Therefore, we're forced to use this one word in a myriad of contexts. For example, I love cereal. But I also love my family.

Telling my family members that I love them loses quite a bit of meaning when I would readily say the same thing about my bowl of Grape Nuts.

John 3:16 is a fantastic verse quickly losing its impact due to overuse. I wonder if the real problem is that we've forgotten the meaning of love as portrayed in John's words: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son."

God loved the world and I loved the spaghetti last night.

See the problem? When we use "love" for every little thing, it has little impact left when we really mean it.

Lewis identifies this problem in his book "The Four Loves." He explains that the Greek language has four distinct words for love. "Storge" connotes affection. "Philia" is love between friends. "Eros" means romantic love. And "agape" is unconditional love, like God's love for humanity.

Lewis's point is that not all love is equal. Clearly I don't love spaghetti in the same way that God loves the world.

So what's the solution? Well, besides learning Greek, I think our only choice is to be more creative in our expressions of affection or happiness. Then, when we do use the word "love," it will actually mean something.

Next time you're tempted to frivolously throw "love" around, think of what you're actually trying to say.

If you like your roommate's shoes, don't say, "I love your shoes." In the true sense of the word, I'm sure you don't really "love" anyone's footwear. Instead, try verbalizing what exactly you like about them.

You know how if you say a word over and over, it starts to lose its meaning? (If you don't know what I'm talking about, try it: repeat "pillow" until you can't remember what a pillow is).

Well, we can't let that happen to love. So please, don't just tell people that you love them this Valentine's Day. Show them. Use some creativity instead of falling back on a tired word.

It is a holiday, after all. Let's give "love" the week off.