Charity Suffereth Long And Is Kind

"Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up," (1 Corinthians 13:4). Every time I've ever read this verse, I've always read "charity suffereth long, and is kind" as just the first two of a long list, no more or less related to each other than to any of the other attributes that Paul lists. But think about it. It's not charity suffereth long, and then, separately, charity is kind. It's charity suffereth long and yet, despite all of her pain, charity continues to be kind anyway. There's a common phrase that "hurt people hurt people." It is completely understandable that when we are in pain and in survival mode, we don't have the mental or emotional capacity to practice empathy or consider the consequences of our actions. But if we have charity, then even when we are suffering we can still be kind. We can look to the Savior as an example. While He was suffering literally the most, He still managed to be kind. He let His closest Apostles sleep, healed the ear of one of the guards sent to arrest him, forgave the men who nailed Him to the cross, comforted the criminals being crucified alongside Him and told His best friend to take care of His mother when He was gone. When we truly have charity, then no matter how much anguish and chaos have turned our lives upside down, we still take the time and the energy and the effort to be kind. That is what the pure love of Christ looks like. That is a mother running a 102 fever taking the time to nurse and be kind to her equally sick children. That is the sibling equally grieving the loss of a parent nonetheless taking charge of the funeral arrangements and being the one that all of the other siblings lean on. With the power of Christ's love flowing through us, no matter how much we are suffering, we can still be kind.