Charity Defined

What is life all about? Why are we even here? Left in a world full of greed and selfishness, everyone wanting more, but none ever satisfied with what they have obtained, we might ask ourselves what is the point of life? People fight day after day to gain positions, just to lose all in the blink of an eye through natural disasters, wars random destruction or political whims. Nothing is safe, and when our time is through, nothing can be taken with us.

But those who discontinue searching for what they can obtain for themselves find there is another world here on earth. It is the world outside of our own needs. It is the world all around us. It is the needs of others. And if we can become just as interested in the lives and wellbeing of our fellow man as our own, we quickly find we have traded moments of short lived thrills for enduring joy. This is charity.

Cor 13

 1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

  2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Paul explains that there are many good things we can do in this life. Doing them might indicate that we are righteous and worthy of the Lord. Speaking great and inspiring words, foretelling the future, giving freely of ourselves to those in need, doing all of these things mean nothing if we have not charity.

We see the hypocrite doing these same acts for praise of others, for power and fame. They may do it to relieve the guilt they feel for not being the kind of person they know they should be. It is not in the doing that makes us followers of Christ. It is in the being. What are we becoming? Who are we really serving? What element is required in all these acts of service? It is Charity!

  4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

The possessor of charity is willing to endure hardships for righteous sake as long as required. There is no envy in their heart, and they do not do these things to make themselves great in the eyes of others. Theirs is a pure desire to follow the right because it is the right way to go.

  5 Doth not behave itself unseemingly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

This is a person who would not behave out of character, even when beyond the view of those whose favor they could be trying to gain. They would not seek to gain selfish purposes or items of personal value at the risk of hurting another. They have patience with those whom they deal with, and are not secretly scheming to join the forces of evil for ulterior motives.

  6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

They are never gladdened by the hardships of others. They never try to make another’s path more difficult to tread. They cannot look on evil without feeling saddened, and more resolved to fight for right.

When they see, feel or hear the truth, their heart is gladdened. They feel stronger, and uplifted by the words of the Lord. They seek after times of refreshment, when the joys of the saints can be shared, and the hopes and faith of God’s children buoyed up, even for a moment.

  7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

They are ready and willing to bear all burdens, all hardships, all pains and sufferings. They believe all that is true, for it is taught to them of the Holy Ghost. In this believing, they find hope; hope in the future, hope in their fellow man, hope in their family, and in their God. And because of this, they are ready and willing to endure whatever is given to them, for they know that it will be worth the pain.

  8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

This pure love for others, no matter who they might be, will never fail to give us eternal joy. We will see those who promise much, and the promises will not hold us up. There will be those who speak great things, giving us cause to believe they have found a better path to follow. Their empty promises will dry in the heat of the day, and blow as dust in the wind. There will be those who have studied much, and can impress many with their great learning and profound logic. But all of their reasoning shall vanish away when the time of testing comes to our door.

  9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

We only know a part of the truth; the part that has been revealed to us by a loving heavenly Father. The part that we do not know is to be filled in by faith. Developing our faith is part of the learning on earth that can not be ignored nor understated. We must learn to trust in Christ, as He trusts in His Father. We too must be able to say “thy will be done”.

  10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

There will come a time when all the questions will be answered, all the blanks filled, all purposes revealed. That day will be a great moment in the history of man. When it comes, the many partial truths and rumors, the sophistries of men, will be done away with. We will laugh at the silly theories that we came up with to answer challenging questions. We will see the wisdom of our God, and we will praise Him for His greatness.

  11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

We live with what we have now. The limited understandings of a child force them to look to those with more knowledge to see them through. But someday, we will be given the knowledge to do on our own. When that time comes, it is not our duty to hold fast to the familiar things that saw us through childhood. We must be as Paul, let go of the lesser in preference to the fuller truths offered to us by a loving God.

  12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

We need to be patient with others, for our perspective is as if we are looking through a dark glass. Yes, we see what we think to be truth, but the blurred images may conceal what might be the real truth. There will come a time when we shall see “face to face” and we will understand the perspective of another, just as he will see our side of the story. Until that time, let us have patience and long endurance with each other. It will make our lives more enjoyable, and we will have less regrets when the time of truth comes, and we see just how wrong we were.

  13 And now abideth faith, hope, and charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Faith is the first step to Christ. We have to have faith in His love, in His ability to save, in His promise that He will not leave us, but rather that He has prepared a place for us to dwell.

In that faith, there grows hope. Hope that we can be together, that we can escape this veil of tears, that He will heal all of our wounds, and allow us back in the presents of our Father, there to dwell with Him forever.

But above these two important principles is charity. For charity is the pure love of Christ. In it He taught us. In it He fought for us. In it He lived for us. In it He died for us. There is not a soul that has graced this earth who is not loved by the Lord, Jesus Christ. He gave His life for His friends. He drank the bitter cup that we all might have a chance to live. And all of these things He did because of charity. Charity is the greatest of all, for all other things shall fail, but charity never faileth.