And it endureth forever. So I take a look at Moroni 7 once again and visit what it means to be charitable, and how we can know if we have the spirit of charity in our hearts.
The art of looking sideways.
Phew! Getting to this a little late today. Been doing a little spring cleaning around the house. Yeah, who cares if it’s August? It’s spring indoors with the AC going, right? XD
So, I’ll just keep this one short, cuz I’ve got a lot of cleaning to get back to- XD I really freaking love Moroni 7, not gonna lie. It’s one of my favorite chapters in the entire Book of Mormon. So I plan to revisit it here, and likely tomorrow too. Cuz seriously, Moroni 7 is a spiritual gem. It covers so many topics so clearly and so thoroughly, it’s like a Swiss Army Knife for life’s problems. A Swiss Mormon Knife.
…I’m sorry. I’m in a punny mood. XD
Anyway! Another one of the great things I took from Moroni 7 was a lesson in what it means to love like Christ. Though I’ll admit, I learned this by a certain someone’s example before I ever read about it (looking at you, Andrew~) …this chapter put it into words for me. Fun fact: As a convert, the word “charity” took a long time to wrap my brain around. I grew up reading the NIV version of the Bible, not the KJV. And although Moroni’s description of charity basically mirrors that in 1 Corinthians 13, the NIV just uses the word “love,” not “charity.”
That one word confused me so much when I first converted. Cuz let’s face it: Charity is an archaic word now. It’s specific to a few religious dialects and that’s it. Society certainly doesn’t use it anymore either ¬_¬ Only way I’d ever heard it used was for nonprofits like Locks of Love, or World Vision. And that’s what a lot of people interpret charity to mean. Generosity. Which is good, but there’s more to it than that.
I think it’s good that we actually have a word for “the pure love of Christ” specifically, cuz otherwise we use the same “love” for anything and everything generic. Makes me think of how the ancient Greeks had many words for different kinds of love. Closest one they had to charity would probably be agape. So, what is agape, or charity?
Luckily, Moroni summarized it up for us in one convenient verse. XD
“And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” (Moroni 7:45)
I’m gonna take a quick look at each of these.
“Charity suffereth long.”
In plain English? Charity is patient. Charity endures what comes its way. Charity turns the other cheek. Long-suffering is similar in meaning to “enduring.” So, being charitable – or filled with the love of Christ – does not make us weak. It makes us strong, and able to endure anything.
“Kind, and envieth not.”
Pretty straightforward; it’s kind and understanding, not jealous and envious. Which just makes sense. You can’t be kind and understanding when you’re focused on yourself, and how much you hate that Sally has a newer toy than you. Hard to love Sally with that kind of attitude. Jealousy is an ugly thing, and it destroys kindness.
Christ sure wasn’t jealous, tho. But if anyone ever had reason to be jealous, seriously… He didn’t have a home, he wasn’t rich or respected, he lost followers practically every day, worked himself to the bone for the sake of un-freaking-grateful people, and eventually died the worst of deaths for people who – he surely must’ve known – would largely reject and ridicule him for it. Imagine the kind of life he could’ve had if he hadn’t been so busy with the whole Son-of-God thing! But that’s just not the point, is it. And I’m pretty dang sure he never would’ve thought something like that. That’s not how charity thinks. His concern was never for himself – which overlaps with the next section quite nicely.
“Not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked.”
Puffed-up. Man, I love that wording. It’s a phrase we still hear nowadays, so most everyone knows it refers to pride. I just love it though. It makes me think of a bird ruffling his feathers, puffing up into a fat little ball, just to try and look more impressive. Instead, you get this ridiculous ball of fluff who doesn’t look half as cool as he thinks he does. And that’s how pride is, by the end of the day – a ridiculous sense of self-entitlement, like we’re better than everyone else.
Christ sure wasn’t like that. The Son of God, holiest and most powerful mortal to ever walk the earth, with all the elements at his command, who could’ve just swept his enemies off before his face like the pitiful insects they were, compared to him. He could’ve just snapped his fingers and they would’ve like, exploded. But it wasn’t about him. He didn’t seek his own, even though he could very easily have come in, swinging lightning bolts with divine retribution, and had the whole world give him the respect he deserved. Instead, he showed us what it really means to be humble. And he didn’t seek his own. He wasn’t selfish. Neither is a charitable heart.
Jesus was not easily provoked either. It took a lot to get him angry. Only thing that ever really got under his skin, ironically, was hypocrisy. Not the grievous sins of other people, regardless of how bad they were. The woman caught “in the act?” Who’d committed the sin of adultery? Didn’t even bat an eyelid at that. He told her, “Go and sin no more.” Now, those Pharisees, on the other hand… Ohh, he had a few choice words for them. Even then, he had great patience there. Think about how long it took for him to get angry at them. Even though I’m sure it must’ve been eating him up inside, seeing these guys twist around the beautiful truths of the gospel. It’s a virtue I hope I can someday live up to.
“Thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity, but in the truth.”
In a charitable heart, there is no room for evil thoughts. Because the love of Christ can only come to a heart that’s filled with the Spirit. That’s why Moroni tells us in verse 48 that we need to “pray for it, with all our hearts.” Charity has a perfect sense of right and wrong, and doesn’t celebrate sin, because it knows what sin really is: A destructive power that brings nothing but pain and suffering, sooner or later. Charity celebrates love, light, and truth, and resists the carnal man. And I think most of us know that we can’t get that way without the direct influence of the Holy Spirit.
“Beareth/believeth/hopeth/endureth all things.”
In short, charity puts up with a lot of crap. XD Charity bears with even the most awful, unpleasant, inconvenient situations without getting upset or having a breakdown. Charity believes in the promises of the Lord, having faith as well as hope. Charity never gives up, and holds out as long as it takes to finish what it started. Charity is, in a nutshell, pure selfless love, and whoever has the spirit of Charity in their hearts at the last day, “it shall be well with him” (Moroni 7:47).
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.” (Moroni 7:48)
…So much for a shorter post. XD
Your Daily Dose Of Scripture 