So last week, I discussed how charity is about your actions. This week, as I look at verses 5 through 7, I’m going to examine the behavior of charity.
Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
– 1 Corinthians 13:5-7
Now we are looking at charity’s behavior. Just as I discussed last week, charity is about your actions. Let’s look at each idea separately.
Doth not behave itself unseemly
To say that charity, or love, isn’t unseemly – or improper – immediately causes my mind to think of inappropriate physical behavior (i.e. sexual sin). And while I do think love respects physical boundaries, especially outside of a marriage context, I think there are some other implications here, too. Charity isn’t rude and doesn’t put others down. Doesn’t humiliate others or push their moral boundaries. I could go on and on. But I think this all goes back to the idea that love is kind. When we treat others with kindness, our behavior speaks love more than our words ever could.
Seeketh not her own
Love isn’t selfish. When we exhibit true Christian charity, we look to the needs of others, just as Christ did on the cross. 1 Corinthians 10:24 says, Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth. As Christians, we should look how to benefit others. That may be by donating food to a homeless shelter or helping a widow mow her lawn.
I think this also goes back to verse 3 of this chapter. If we are doing good deeds seeking our own merit, we are not showing charity. But when we do good deeds to simply help others, that is charity.
is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil
I combine these two ideas because I think they are intertwined. If we see the good in others, if we actively seek to give them the benefit of the doubt, it will help us keep our temper in check. When we lose our temper, it’s usually a result of feeling betrayed, overwhelmed, or inferior. When we seek the good in others, when we try to consider that their misstep came from good intentions or simply a misunderstanding, then we can keep our temper from getting the best of us. I think this requires, more than anything, listening to other person. When we become angry, a lot of times we don’t want to listen. But when we do, we might be able to better understand why they acted the way they did and discuss a way to prevent the problem in the future.
And let’s not forget James 1:19, Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
I think keeping our temper in check is also important because of what usually comes out of it. We want to hurt others after we’ve been hurt, causing us to hurl hateful words or plot some cruel deed in revenge. But we should think no evil toward our brethren. We shouldn’t seek to harm them in any way. In fact, that goes against the fact that charity seeketh not her own. When we plot revenge or think something nasty, we’re seeking our own gain, whether it’s to feel better about ourselves or to try to find some satisfaction. True charity doesn’t seek to harm another person; it seeks to help them.
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth
Romans 1:32 says, Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. We are well aware of sin; we have a whole book that lets us know what pleases God and what doesn’t. A conscience and the Holy Spirit to guide us. We should seek to do good.
But in today’s world, sin is celebrated. Abortion. Adultery. I could go on and on. Instead of celebrating sin, however, we should celebrate the truth. And the truth is Jesus Christ (John 14:6). We should model this in our behavior. Do we strive to follow God’s law? Repent of our mistakes? Seek to do better in the future? Or do we simply shrug it off?
Beareth all things
Galatians 6:2 says, Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. When we love someone, we’ll stick by them through the hard times and not just the good times. We’ll seek to help them, just as Christ does, just as He did on the cross (1 Peter 2:24). For why shouldn’t we stick with someone for better or for worse when that’s what Christ does? He doesn’t love us any less during the bad times. So why should we run at the slightest difficulty? Why shouldn’t we persevere? Too often, we run at the first sign of trouble, claiming we can’t handle it. But Christ dealt with much worse for us.
believeth all things, hopeth all things
Lest we think this gives us call to be naive, let’s look at the Greek word for “believeth.” According to Strong’s Concordance, the Greek word used here, pisteúō, means “to have faith.” When we look at the concordance (I used Blue Letter Bible), we see that the Greek word pisteúō is largely used in context to believing in Christ.
God gives us a lot of promises in the Bible, but best of all, He promises to be with us (Hebrews 13:5). I fully believe that when we view life through that lens, it makes it a lot easier to show love toward others. For that faith and trust in God shows we love Him, and that loves pours out to others.
Believing in Christ also means having hope. Hebrews 11:1 says, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. We can’t see what’s coming, but we have hope that Heaven is a better place, that what we’re going through will be worth it in the end, that Christ will work all things out for good (Romans 8:28). When we truly believe in Christ, when we put our hope in Him, it shows in our behavior. We’ll bear hardships better and be more at peace.
endureth all things
In Matthew 10:22, Jesus said to His disciples, And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. Following Christ, loving others, can feel at times like a fruitless endeavor. We experience mocking, ridicule, coarse labels. Storms come that we can’t understand, and through it all, we’re tempted to quit. But being tried in our faith brings patience (James 1:3), and what we endure for the Lord is never fruitless (James 1:12).
Final thoughts
Charity is about our behavior, how we treat others. Love shows best through our actions, and that includes our behavior. Not only our behavior toward others but also our behavior toward Christ. In fact, I believe our behavior toward Christ affects our behavior toward others. When we seek to please Him, we will follow His commandment to love our neighbor (Matthew 23:29).
Challenge: This week, examine the way you behave in stressful situations. Do you lash out? Are you quick to judge? Try to respond in love and follow the advice of James 1:19.
