Charity

What is Charity and how can it help our marriage relationships?
H. Wallace Goddard describes charity—the pure love of Christ—as “love for Christ, love from Christ, and love like Christ…as we feel love from Him and for Him, we naturally love like him.”
We learn more about the qualities of charity that we can apply to our relationships from the Book of Mormon prophet Moroni (see Moroni 7:45); “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 in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, and endureth all things."
We can so quickly and easily be put out and frustrated by our spouse’s weaknesses, which might include some of the following:
  • Leaving the bag of cookies (or bread, or muffins) open for them to dry out.
  • Not wiping off the crumbs and glopped jam from the counter after breakfast.
  • Not rinsing the used dishes he puts in the sink, so the food gets nice and stuck on for me to deal with.
  • Continuing to put the ice cream scoop (the one that is not supposed to go in the dishwasher because it ruins it) in the dishwasher (even though I have asked him not to, at least a half dozen times).
Goddard reminds us that charity (like anger) is a choice. So, instead of getting upset, making a snarky comment, or nagging my husband (which would not endear myself to him), I could humble myself and reply with kindness, patience, and long-suffering. I could remember the things I love about him--that he does dishes so I don’t have to, he starts laundry in mornings, he fills my car up with gas, and he tells me I am beautiful (just to name a few). I could then smile, close the bag, wipe off the counter, fill the dishes with water, buy a new ice cream scoop, and tell him I love him—because I do!
The attached video depicts what true charity in a marriage is and can be.
References
Goddard, H. W. (2009). Drawing heaven into your marriage: Eternal doctrines that change relationships. Cedar Hills, UT: Joymap Publishing.
Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day-Sai. (2010). Book of mormon. Place of publication not identified: General Books.


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