Charity and Its Fruits (continued)
and practice may by it be reproved. A malignant and malicious spirit is the very contrary of the former, for it disposes men to do evil to others, and not good. So also is a close and selfish spirit, whereby men are wholly bent on their own interests, and unwilling in anything to forego their own ends for the sake of others. And they, also, are of a spirit and practice the very opposite of a spirit of love, who show an exorbitantly grasping and avaricious spirit, and who take every opportunity to get all they possibly can from their neighbors in their dealings with them, asking them more for what they do for or sell to them than it is truly worth, and extorting to the utmost from them by unreasonable demands: having no regard to the value of the thing to their neighbor, but, as it were, forcing out of him all they can get for it. And they who do these things are generally very selfish also in buying from their neighbors, grinding and pinching them down to the lowest prices, and being very backward to give what the thing purchased is really worth. Such a spirit and practice are the very opposite of a Christian spirit, and are severely reproved by the great law of love, viz. That we do to others as we would have them do to us. The subject we have been considering, also,
2. Exhorts all to the duty of freely doing good to others. — Seeing that this is a Christian duty, and a virtue becoming the gospel, and to which a Christian spirit, if we possess it, will dispose us, let us seek, as we have opportunity, to do good to the souls and bodies of others, endeavoring to be a blessing to them for time and eternity. Let us, to this end, be willing to do, or give, or suffer, that we may do good alike to friends and enemies, to the evil and the good, to the thankful and the unthankful. Let our benevolence and beneficence be universal, constant, free, habitual, and according to our opportunities and ability; for this is essential to true piety, and required by the commands of God. And here several things are to be considered: —
First, what a great honor it is to be made an instrument of good in the world. When we fill up our lives with doing good, God puts the high honor upon us of making us a blessing to the world — an honor like that which he put upon Abraham, when he said (Gen. 12:2 ), "I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing." The very light of nature teaches that this is a great honor; and therefore the Eastern kings and governors used to assume to themselves the title of benefactors, that is, "doers of good," as the most honorable they could think of (Luke 22:25 ). It was a common thing in heathen lands, when those that had done a great deal of good in their lifetime were dead, for the people among whom they dwelt to reckon them as gods, and build temples to their honor, and for their worship. So far as God makes men the instruments of doing good to others, he makes them like the heavenly bodies — the sun, and moon, and stars, that bless the world by shedding down their light; he makes them like the angels, who are ministering spirits to others for their good. Yea, he makes them like himself, the great fountain of all good, who is forever pouring down his blessings on mankind.
Second, thus freely to do good to others, is but to do to them as we would have them do to us. If others have a hearty goodwill to us, and show us a great deal of kindness, and are ready to help us when we stand in need, and for that end are free to do, or give, or suffer for us, and to bear our burdens, and feel for us in our calamities, and are warmhearted and liberal in all this, we most highly approve of their spirit and conduct. And we not only approve, but we highly commend, and, perhaps, make occasions to speak well of such persons, never thinking, however, that they exceed their duty, but that they act as it becomes them to do. Let us, then, remember, that if this is so noble and so much to be commended in others when we are its objects, then we ought to do the same to them, and to all about us. What we thus approve we should exemplify in our own conduct.
Third, let us consider how kind God and Christ have been to us, and how much good we have received from them. Their kindness in things pertaining to this world has been very great. The divine mercies are new to us every morning, and fresh every evening: they are as ceaseless as our being. And still greater good things has God bestowed for our spiritual and eternal good. He has given us what is of more value than all the kingdoms of the earth. He has given his only-begotten and well-beloved Son — the greatest gift he could bestow. And Christ has not only done, but he has suffered, great things, and given himself to die for us; and all freely, and without grudging, or hope of reward. "Though he was rich" with all the riches of the universe, "yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich" (2 Cor. 8:9 ). And what great things hath God done for those of us who are converted, and have been brought home to Christ; delivering us from sin, justifying and sanctifying us, making us kings and priests unto God, and giving us a title "to an inheritance that is incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away" (1 Pet. 1:4 ). And all this, when we are not good, but evil and unthankful, and in ourselves deserving only of wrath. And,
Fourth, let us consider what great rewards are promised to those that freely do good to others. God hath promised that to "the merciful he will show himself merciful" (Psa. 18:25 ); and there is scarcely any duty spoken of throughout the Bible, that has so many promises of reward as this, whether for this world or the world to come. For this world, as our Savior declares (Acts 20:35 ) — "It is more blessed to give than to receive." He that gives bountifully, is more blessed in the bountiful gifts that he parts with, than he that receives the bounty. What is bestowed in doing good to others is not lost, as if it were thrown into the ocean. It is rather, as Solomon tells us (Ecc. 11:1 ), like the seed which the Orientals plant by scattering it on the waters when the floods are up, and which sinking to the bottom, there takes root, and, springing up, is found again in the abundant harvest, after many days. What is so given, is loaned to the Lord (Pro. 19:17 ), and what we have thus lent him, he will pay us again. And he will not only repay it, but will greatly increase its amount. For if we give, it is declared (Luke 6:38 ) that it shall be "given to us again, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over." Indeed this is the very way to increase; for it is said (Pro. 11:24 ) — "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty;" and again (Isa. 32:8 ) "The liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand." What even unregenerate men do give in this way, God often seems to reward with great temporal blessings. His own declaration is (Pro. 28:27 ), that "he that giveth unto the poor shall not lack;" and the promise is not restricted to the saints: and our observation of providence shows, that men's gifts to the poor are almost as surely prospered of God to themselves, as the seed which they sow in the field. It is easy for God to make up, and more than make up, to us, all that we thus give for the good of others. It is of this very kind of giving, that the apostle tells the Corinthians (2 Cor. 9:6-8 ) that "he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully;" adding that "God loveth a cheerful giver," and that he "is able to make all grace abound toward them;" that is, to make all their gifts abound to themselves. Many persons do but little consider how much their prosperity depends on providence. And yet, even for this world, it is "the blessing of God that maketh rich" (Pro. 10:22 ); and of him that considereth the poor, it is written (Psa. 41:1 ), that "the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble." And if we give in the way and with the spirit of Christian charity, we shall thus lay up treasure in heaven, and receive at last the rewards of eternity. This is that laying up of treasures that fail not, of which Christ speaks (Luke 12:33 ), and as to which he declares (Luke 14:13 , 14 ) that, though the poor whom we benefit cannot recompense us, "we shall be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. "This, then, is the best way of laying up for time or for eternity. It is the best way of laying up for ourselves, and the best way of laying up for our posterity, for of the good man, who shows favor and lendeth, it is written (Psa. 112 ) that "his horn shall be exalted with honour," and that "his seed shall be mighty upon earth," and "wealth and riches shall be in his house, and his righteousness endureth for ever." And when Christ shall come to judgment, and all people shall be gathered before him, then to those who were kind and benevolent, in the true spirit of Christian love, to the suffering and the poor, he shall say (Mat. 25:34-36 , 40 ), "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me…. Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
The Spirit of Charity the
Opposite of an Envious Spirit.
1 Corinthians 13:4 , "Charity envieth not."
HAVING already seen the nature and tendency of Christian charity, or divine love, with respect to the evil received from others, that it "suffers long," and also with respect to doing good to others, that it "is kind," we now come to the feelings and conduct to which the same charity will lead us in respect to the good possessed by others, and that possessed by ourselves. And in reference to the good possessed by others, the apostle declares it to be the nature and tendency of charity, or true Christian love, not to envy them the possession of any good whatever which is theirs — "Charity envieth not." The teaching of these words plainly is,
THAT CHARITY, OR A TRULY CHRISTIAN SPIRIT, IS THE VERY OPPOSITE OF AN ENVIOUS SPIRIT.
In dwelling on this thought, I would show, I. What is the nature of an envious spirit; II. Wherein a Christian spirit is the opposite of such a spirit; and, III. The reason and evidence of the doctrine.
I. The nature of envy. Envy may be defined to be a spirit of dissatisfaction with, and opposition to, the prosperity and happiness of others as compared with our own. The thing that the envious person is opposed to, and dislikes, is the comparative superiority of the state of honor, or prosperity or happiness, that another may enjoy, over that which he possesses. And this spirit is especially called envy, when we dislike and are opposed to another's honor or prosperity, because, in general, it is greater than our own, or because, in particular, they have some honor or enjoyment that we have not. It is a disposition natural in men, that they love to be uppermost; and this disposition is directly crossed, when they see others above them. And it is from this spirit that men dislike and are opposed to the prosperity of others, because they think it makes those who possess it superior, in some respect, to themselves. And from this same disposition, a person may dislike another's being equal to himself in honor or happiness, or in having the same sources of enjoyments that he has. For as men very commonly are, they cannot bear a rival much, if any, better than a superior, for they love to be singular and alone in their eminence and advancement. Such a spirit is called envy in the Scriptures. Thus Moses speaks of Joshua's envying for his sake, when Eldad and Medad were admitted to the same privilege with himself in having the spirit of prophecy given them, saying (Num. 11:29 ), "Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them!" And Joseph's brethren, we are told (Gen. 37:11 ), envied him when they had heard his dream, which implied that his parents and brethren were yet to bow down before him, and that he was to have power over them. From such a spirit, persons are not only unwilling that others should be above them or equal to them, but that they should be near them. For the desire to be distinguished in prosperity and honor is the more gratified just in proportion as they are elevated, and others are below them, so that their comparative eminence may be marked and visible to all. And this disposition may be exercised, either in reference to the prosperity that others may obtain, and of which they are capable, or in reference to that which they actually have obtained. In the latter