Real Love: Having Charity

Bill Brinkworth

Love is an emotion that all need to be happy. It is the strong affection a child has for his parents, the fondness parents have for child, the bonding relationship between husband and wife, and the feeling a person has for another. Although one of the most important emotions mankind needs to be healthy, it is the one feeling that is most misunderstood and is confusing to many.

Seekers of love seek it in the wrong places, and when they do experience it they are often confused by the emotion. People sometimes confuse lust with love, confuse selfishness with love, and sometimes even confuse responsibility with the emotion. Real love is not what one can demand from another. It is not bought; it is given.

Real love is often referred to as “charity” in the Bible. Charity is described simply in I Corinthians 13:3-8:

I Cor. 13:3 “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.” Prior to this verse, many of the gifts God gave to members of the early church, before they had the written Word of God, were mentioned. Many of those gifts would fade away. One gift that would not be taken away was the gift of charity.
I Cor. 13:4 “Charity suffereth long,
Love doesn’t quit. It continues and puts up with a lot.
and is kind;
Love is not mean, but is kind!
charity envieth not;
Love does not cause a person to get jealous about another.
charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,”
Love does not make one brag about oneself, or make one think he is better than another!
I Cor. 13:5 “Doth not behave itself unseemly,
Love doesn’t think bad thoughts (indecent) about another.
seeketh not her own,
Love does not direct one to care about another just for what they can get from another.
is not easily provoked,
Love for another does not allow one to get mad at another easily.
thinketh no evil;
Love does not allow one to see the bad in another.
I Cor. 13:6 “Rejoiceth not in iniquity,
Love does not allow one to be happy when another is sinning.
but rejoiceth in the truth;”
Love is happy when the other tells the truth, and when friends are honest with each other.
I Cor. 13:7 “Beareth all things,
Love puts up with a lot.
believeth all things,
Love believes what the other person says, no matter what is suspected.
hopeth all things, Love wants the best for another.
endureth all things.”
Love does not stop!
I Cor. 13:8 “Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease;”

The love described in these verses is not the one portrayed in most movies. It is not the temporary emotion that produces a “love” relationship several times a month. It is an emotion, given to people by God, and it is tolerant, resilient, forgiving, and binding. It is real love!

“Love meets the needs of the loved object.” — Gary Bane

This lesson was featured in The Bible View #461.