Why Paul Was Right about Charity—Lessons from My Agnostic Education
Keywords
charity, spiritual gifts, earnest pursuit
Abstract
Eagerly Run to Embrace Charity
As Paul winds down his letter to the Corinthians he urges them to “Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts” (1 Cor. 14:1).
A more literal translation highlights the urgency and energy of Paul’s command is “swiftly and eagerly chase after charity.”
In fact, so capable was Paul at word-smithing and communication, at packing enormous significance and meaning into a few words, we could translate his opening phrase of 1 Corinthians 14 in any of the following ways:
Eagerly run to embrace charity Zealously strive for charity Swiftly run after charity Indefatigably desire charity Earnestly and with sustained energy seek out charity Strive to have charity Press on in the pursuit of charity Endeavor to acquire charity Let me tell you a story from my own life that reinforced the importance of a “charity-first” mentality, instead of a “learned-tongues-first” mentality.
Original Publication Citation
Why Paul Was Right about Charity–Lessons from My Agnostic Education, September 1, 2019. (Republished on LDS Living on September 5, 2019. Translated and published in Spanish at MásFe on September 19, 2019.)
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Halverson, Taylor, "Why Paul Was Right about Charity—Lessons from My Agnostic Education" (2019). Faculty Publications. 9956.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/9956
Document Type
Other
Publication Date
2019
Language
English
College
Marriott School of Business
Department
Marketing
Copyright Use Information
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