Charity

Working on a marriage is a life-time pursuit.  A marriage can always be better.  I finished my weekly summaries of Created to Be His Helpmeet and wondered what to study next.  It is the season of weddings (my anniversary is less than a month away) and we often hear I Corinthians 13.  It is a practical chapter that must be lived each day.  Do we leave the "Love Chapter" at the altar, or do we live by it? 

I Corinthians 13:1-3

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels,

and have not charity,

I am become as sounding brass,

or a tinkling cymbal.

And though I have the gift of prophecy,

and understand all mysteries,

and all knowledge;

and though I have all faith,

so that I could remove mountains, 

and have not charity, I am nothing.

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.

Charity ... while it can be rendered as "love", it is much, much more than that.  Charity gives to the unlovely, the undeserving, the one who cannot repay.  Charity goes beyond what is expected.  Is that happening in my home?  Am I giving MORE than I think is necessary?  Do I work for praise or reward and not because I desire to serve my family? 

It is not hard to find examples of poor marriages, unhappy marriages, or shallow marriages - even in church.  Sometimes the partners know all the words (vs. 1) about love, marriage, respect, submission, but there is no daily practice.  These families speak of all that they do for each other, but it is hard to find the tangible evidence.  Sometimes the partners are smart, seemingly wise, and have great position in the church (v. 2), but without giving of themselves it is nothing.  Have you seen (or been) the family that feuds all the way to church and then gets out and greets others with their "Sunday Smile"?  It is hypocrisy.  Some families will give of themselves and their substance (v. 3), while ignoring the ones in their own home.  They are the first to volunteer for every outreach, for work projects, for fellowship dinners, while not putting effort to build their home.  Have you seen "Great Christians" whose homes were a mess?  This is not God's design. If a Christian ignores his home to "do the work of God," I don't believe that he is truly doing the work of God.

I want my husband to know that I love him regardless of the situation, not because of my words, not because I know what the Bible says about marriage, and not because I care for others, but because I have and show a selfless love for him wherever we are.  Perhaps it is hardest to practice in the home, because it is easiest to get hurt by those we love the best, but that is no excuse to stop practicing.  Perhaps it is hard to keep giving when it is easy to be taken for granted in the home.  Perhaps it is easy to take on the tone of the world in belittling our spouse or extended family because it is labled as "good fun" and because our family members are so forgiving.  It is the rest of I Corinthians 13 that gives character and definition to that true love.

Will you work on a practical love today as seen in your everyday activities?  I can iron with love or with a complaining spirit.  I can tidy up with love or with disdain that I did this yesterday.  I can cook with love or keep dwelling on the fact that I don't get to eat out as much as the Jones'.  It is the heart attitude that will spill into every aspect of my work.  Why fake it?  Let's build heavenly marriages that are a joy and not a burden.