Let me take you back to my early high school years — a time when personal hygiene often makes or breaks your social life.
The locker next to mine belonged to a guy named John. Now John (like many adolescent boys) maintained a on-again-off-again relationship with personal hygiene. That relationship seemed to dissolve entirely one spring when I noticed a rotten smell emerging from the lockers. Over the course of a few days, this pervasive smell followed us throughout the halls, into class, and even to practice after school. It was a daily nuisance.
John, meanwhile, approached each day with denial and indifference—even when other students mocked him. I never openly ridiculed John, but I was content to let other's poke fun at him. I thought, perhaps, that a little social discomfort would motivate him to wake up and smell the proverbial roses. But John remained oblivious. It seemed as though the only thing that would clear the air was some divinely inspired self-awareness.
That divine intervention arrived one afternoon after school. Coming off the bus, I crossed paths with the appliance technician who was visiting to fix our clothes dryer. He looked pale and distressed. I found Mom standing on the porch with the same queasy looking expression.
"What happened here?" I asked.
Mom took a breath for composure, then explained how they fixed the dryer. Reaching deep inside the dryer's ventilation, the repairman discovered a blockage. At some point, during the harsh winter months, a desperate packrat climbed into the warm exhaust pipe... and he never made it back out.
The repairman estimated that the packrat had been stewing in the exhaust for at least 3-4 weeks. For those of you who don't do your own laundry, that translates to approximately 30-40 laundry cycles—each load infused with the potent scent of mildly-mummified packrat.
This was the decisive moment of self-awareness that I requested. The very next day, the smells of decomposing rat had been neutralized, and John's dignity had been reclaimed.
1. CHARITY DOES NOT REQUIRE AGREEMENT. IT REQUIRES HUMILITY.
Brother's and sisters, how often do we make this same mistake? How often do we draw conclusions about someone based on what they believe? What they look like? What they smell like?
When I reflect on this experience today, I recognize something interesting:
I wasn't cruel.
I wasn't malicious.
But I was certain.
This type of certainty undermines the most fundamental acts of charity—namely showing humility and consideration.
In other words, this is the start of all charity: that we admit that we may not yet see the whole picture.
It’s easy to show charity to people who think like we think and live like we live. But when there’s friction, when there’s difference, or when something smells off—this is when our charity actually means something.
2. CHRIST AS THE PATTERN
Scripture defines charity as the "Pure love of Christ"
This begs the question: How do we show pure love to imperfect people?
The answer is found in the example of Jesus:
In Gethsemane, in the midst of betrayal and violence, Jesus healed the ear of of a man who had come to arrest Him.
In a culture where reputation mattered deeply, Jesus openly dined with sinners and tax collectors—the social outcasts of that time.
When a sanctimonious crowd presented a woman taken in adultery, Jesus disarmed them with wisdom and restraint.
Having endured humiliation, torture, and injustice, Jesus frankly forgave the men who had placed Him on the cross to die in agony.
During His earthly ministry, Jesus never endorsed injustice or excused wrongdoing. He demonstrated that pure love is always anchored in patience, truth, and discernment. Yes, Christ showed a great deal of compassion, but in doing so He showed strength and restraint—not weakness and acquiescence.
This is a stark contrast with modern thought, which often conflates charity with reflexive sympathy—or the compulsive urge to always rescue, always defend, and always remedy. But true charity seeks what is ultimately redemptive, even when that means allowing room for growth, accountability, or consequence.
5. CHARITY NEVER FAILETH
It is said that charity never faileth.
But... it is not uncommon for charity to be met with rejection, contempt, or hostility. If charity never fails, then why don't people change? Why don't they soften their hearts? Why do they respond to kindness with cruelty?
There may be times when we conclude that charity... sometimes faileth. In those moments, we must remember:
- Charity does not depend on outcomes.
- Charity does not require reciprocity.
- Charity does not demand compliance.
We cannot measure charity by the amount suffering it eliminates or by the number of people who accept it graciously. Charity will not always change the world around us. But it will always change the soul of those who extend it to others.
Jesus asks us to do more than "be kind". He asks that we love one another... as He has loved us.
Those who accept this invitation become resilient when provoked and steady when misunderstood.
This is why charity never faileth.
