I always thought of charity as showing love to people by giving to organizations that helped people, then I started reading the scriptures and found charity to show love for people by helping them in many ways and praying for them. But then when I began to really study the scriptures I found that charity is really something a lot more than showing love and helping where I could.
I love Paul and the things he taught. Reading this scripture has taught me what charity really means.
He says that charity is everything. He says that if you do everything you are supposed to do but you don't have charity then you are nothing. I thought about that for a moment, how do you do all the right things but not have charity?
I know that there were times when I would do things because I knew I was supposed to but I didn't really want to do it; like when I was learning about tithing. I wanted to take the money and use it on something else but I knew I was supposed to pay 10% of my increase. I had to learn that the blessings don't come if you do it with the wrong attitude. I knew if I paid an honest tithe and did it with a loving attitude that I was showing my love for my Father in this commandment. So this part of the scripture did make more sense to me; give it with my heart.
But charity means more than just loving through obedience; some of these were real eye openers to me.
Charity is long suffering: That means we are to be patient with others and with God, as long as it takes. We should forgive time and time again, for as long as it takes. We should continue to help people for as long as it takes. These things are not always easy but if we do this we will know charity in our hearts.
Charity envieth not: This means we are to be happy with what we have and not want what others have. There were times in my life that I wished I was blessed with certain things in my life, mostly material things, but then I realized that even though some people had materials things I had spiritual blessings which others did not, and spiritual blessings last longer than material ones. I found that I was happy with my blessings. It seemed that the more material things they had the more they wanted, they were never happy or satisfied.
Charity never vaunteth itself, was not puffed up: This means we don't go around bragging and feeling mightier than the people we serve. When we serve we have to do it with God in mind, that we are doing these things to help but not make anyone feel less of themselves for receiving. Christians are often accused of being mightier than, if we have charity in our hearts we will disprove that theory by helping people to realize that we act upon these things because we want to be more like our Savior, we want to do it because we love them. Jesus was not prideful in service to others.
Seeketh not her own: We are not to pick and choose who we give service and love to, we should be doing this every day as we go through our lives. If we see a need we help, we don't say well today I am going to do one act of service to help someone. We should be saying I will do what the Holy Spirit prompts me to do and serve where I am needed today.
Charity bearth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, and endueth all things: We should testify that we are followers of Jesus Christ and try to do as He did, we should testify of the truth we hold in our hearts, we should help others to hope for good things to happen, and we should help others to hold on and continue fighting the battle against evil. When we do these things, and help
others to to these things, we are showing true charity in our hearts. We are showing that we have the true love of Christ.
As righteous women we should seek for good things in our lives and find love in our hearts for all people for they are our brothers and sisters, children of God. They are not more or less than we are. They are strong in some areas of life that we are not and we are strong in some areas of life that they are not, we can serve each other with the strengths we are blessed with: this is charity.
Paul concludes that charity never faileth, and that we should have faith, hope and charity, but the most important of all is charity.
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