Charity - C. S. Lewis
I'm waiting for my little Andrew to wake up. I can't believe he's still sleeping. I expect to hear him any minute. Joshua never slept this well in the pack 'n play. We kept Joshua overnight at a much younger age, but this was the first time Andrew spent the night with us away from his mommy and daddy!
Lewis addresses the three Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity in his book, Mere Christianity. And I thought I would share a few of the quotes on Charity while I have a free moment.
Part of charity is forgiveness, and he covered that in its own chapter. We have come to think of charity as giving to the less fortunate. But in the Christian sense, it means much more; it is loving others as we love ourselves.
"But love, in the Christian sense, does not mean an emotion. It is a state not of the feelings but of the will; that state of the will which we have naturally about ourselves, and must learn to have about other people."
"I pointed out in the chapter on Forgiveness that our love for ourselves does not mean that we like ourselves. It means that we wish our own good. In the same way, Christian Love (or charity) for our neighbours is quite a different thing from liking or affection."
Lewis' main theme in this chapter is that we should not waste time trying to conjure up a feeling toward someone. It matters not whether we feel the love. We just need to behave as though we do love them. And the same is true with our love for God. It is not a feeling God is looking for in us, but our response of obedience to Him. We love Him when we obey His commandments.
"Nobody can always have devout feelings; and even if we could, feelings are not what God principally cares about. Christian Love, either towards God or towards man, is an affair of the will. If we are trying to do His will we are obeying the commandment, 'Thou shalt love the Lord, thy God.' He will give us feelings of love if He pleases. We cannot create them for ourselves, and we must not demand them as a right. But the great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not."
Lewis addresses the three Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity in his book, Mere Christianity. And I thought I would share a few of the quotes on Charity while I have a free moment.
Part of charity is forgiveness, and he covered that in its own chapter. We have come to think of charity as giving to the less fortunate. But in the Christian sense, it means much more; it is loving others as we love ourselves.
"But love, in the Christian sense, does not mean an emotion. It is a state not of the feelings but of the will; that state of the will which we have naturally about ourselves, and must learn to have about other people."
"I pointed out in the chapter on Forgiveness that our love for ourselves does not mean that we like ourselves. It means that we wish our own good. In the same way, Christian Love (or charity) for our neighbours is quite a different thing from liking or affection."
Lewis' main theme in this chapter is that we should not waste time trying to conjure up a feeling toward someone. It matters not whether we feel the love. We just need to behave as though we do love them. And the same is true with our love for God. It is not a feeling God is looking for in us, but our response of obedience to Him. We love Him when we obey His commandments.
"Nobody can always have devout feelings; and even if we could, feelings are not what God principally cares about. Christian Love, either towards God or towards man, is an affair of the will. If we are trying to do His will we are obeying the commandment, 'Thou shalt love the Lord, thy God.' He will give us feelings of love if He pleases. We cannot create them for ourselves, and we must not demand them as a right. But the great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not."
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