The Most Excellent of the Virtues
1 Peter 4:8 Charity is love
“And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.”
1 Peter 4:8 KJV
Next in the list of the Seven Capital Virtues is charity. Charity is the opposite of one of the Seven Deadly Sins - greed. All Christians should be happy that the word charity (from the Latin “caritas”) is associated with our faith. The word was synonymous with Christian love, specifically agape, the “love of God for man and of man for God”. The King James Version of the Bible (which I used for this devotional) uses the words charity and love to describe the same concept.
For example, 1 Corinthians 13 (in which Paul expounds upon love) in the KJV specifically uses charity in place of love:
“Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,”
1 Corinthians 13:4 KJV
“Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,”
1 Corinthians 13:4 NASB1995
Thomas Aquinas, who wrote prolifically about the virtuous life, described charity as “the friendship of man for God” that “unites man to God”. Aquinas felt that charity was “the most excellent of the virtues” and "the habit of charity extends not only to the love of God, but also to the love of our neighbor".
In our world today, charity has become synonymous not with love, but with giving — specifically giving money to a church or charitable organization to fund ministries, feed, clothe or house the homeless, and so on. It is certainly good to give money to help others, but it is more of an emotionless gesture than true Christian love.
To truly practice the virtue of charity, perhaps we should not only spend our money helping others, but show our love in a much more personal and tangible way. Being much kinder and helpful to everyone we meet is an excellent way to start showing agape love.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Lord, although I tithe and pass along my blessings to Your church to minister to others, I find it hard to be generous with my time and my heart. You have blessed me with spiritual gifts, so teach me to put those gifts to use to show selfless love to everyone. May You also remind me constantly that it costs me nothing to be kind to all I meet. In this way I long to be more like Your Son and my Savior, Jesus Christ. AMEN.
Borrowing the prayer! Thank you!