Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
Though modern translations prefer the word love, I have always found it interesting that the translators of the King James Version of the Bible chose the word charity instead.
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia notes:
“The substantive agapē is mainly, if not exclusively, a biblical and ecclesiastical word, not found in profane writings… Jesus Christ gave the thing and the spirit in the church, and the apostles (probably Paul) invented the term to express it.”
That observation has led me to conclude that charity speaks of a unique kind of love—one Christians are to have for their church.
I want to reflect on the phrase, “thinketh no evil.” The word evil here carries the idea of what is harmful, injurious, or wrong. Thayer’s Dictionary defines it as “a mode of thinking, feeling, and acting.”
Here is something churches desperately need more of: an attitude that does not think, feel, or act in ways that harm the church—the body of Christ Jesus has placed us in.
This kind of charity is not natural. It cannot be manufactured by the flesh. It is either a gift of the Holy Ghost, or it is not real at all. Yet the implication of the text is that it is something we may seek from the Lord.
I can—and should—ask God not for tongues, not for miracles, not for signs, but for charity: a love for the church, and a desire to build up and bless rather than harm or injure the body where God has placed me.
#CharityNotSelf #ThinkethNoEvil #LoveTheLocalChurch #BiblicalCharity #BuildUpTheBody
Charity Is Not Natural: This One Phrase Explains So Much Church Conflict
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1 Corinthians 13:5 (KJV) Charity is Not Natural
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