Civility and Charity

This video, called "The Civility Experiment", really helped to open my eyes about the ways we view and judge other people. Like Arabelle, I'm sure that at times I have been guilty of judging people and situations long before I know the facts surrounding them. We all get caught up in talking about how to be kind, how to be humble, and how to be Christ-like; only to turn around and contradict our words with our actions. This form of hypocrisy is something that I believe we all continue to work on throughout our mortal existence. It is not a behavior that can be changed over night, rather, it requires consistent attention on a day to day basis. In the end, our goal should always be to develop the Christ-like attribute of charity. Charity is spoken of in many different scriptures and each gives added insight into this virtue. In 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7, we get a wonderful description of one who has charity, it reads, "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." Every time that I read this scripture, it brings to mind the ultimate example of charity: Jesus Christ. When we study his life, we find that it is filled with love and service towards his fellow man. In short, it may be said that when one has charity, they view and treat those around them the same way Christ would. This is what happened in the video when Arabelle spoke with the homeless man. As she spoke and associated with him, she was able to view him as a person instead of viewing his outside condition. When Christ went around Jerusalem healing the lame, the leprous, and the blind; he looked on the inward man, not the outward appearance. As we live our increasingly busy lives, we are continually confronted by people who may be physically or spiritually sick. We must teach ourselves to focus on who they are, not how they appear to us. I can promise that as we will begin to do this, as we strive to pattern our lives after the life of the Savior, we will bring light and happiness to those that we come in contact with. We will build new friendships and have a greater love for those around us, or in other words we will begin to nurture the seed of charity in our own hearts.