Charity Got Skewed

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up… Charity never faileth… And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity (1 Corinthians 13:4-13).

A very familiar verse. But it sounds weird in the King James Version, doesn’t it? Not just because of the old English. It is because the word “love” is substituted with “charity.”

In the NIV and NKJV, the word used is “love.” In KJV, the closest English translation of the bible, the word “charity” is used. And in the original Greek text, the word used as an equivalent of “charity” is “agape.” In other words, charity = agape.

Does something strike you as odd here? If charity = agape, then the modern understanding of the word “charity” is skewed.

Let me paint you a picture. A boy gives a girl a present. The girl is thrilled. “What’s the occasion?” She asks, smiling cheek to cheek. “Well,” the boy replies. “Do I need an occasion to show an act of charity?” The boy gets a throbbing mark of five fingers on his cheek.

See what I mean? Charity today is a word we use to describe an act of giving to someone of a lower status. It implies that we are doing a good deed to help someone in need, such as donating to the refugee fund, giving clothes to the orphanage, or recycling newspapers for the old folk’s home. The word “charity” is used with a condescending implication. It’s almost like responding to a plea for sympathy. A recipient of charity today is seen as someone needy and unfortunate.

If the boy says that same line to a girl in the 17th century, I think the girl’s face will blush. But if the boy says it in the 21st century, the girl's face will not blush. Instead, it will FLUSH! The boy would better be smart enough to use the word “love” instead of “charity” when giving a girl gifts.

How did the meaning of the word charity get skewed along the passage of time? I have a theory.

Perhaps, a few centuries ago, doing things out of “charity” for one another is a common practice, because charity is understood as an act of love. Every act of kindness is an act of charity, regardless of social status. A poor man can do a rich man a good deed by sweeping his hallway, and call it an act of charity. A boy can do something good for a girl, like give her his favorite green jellybeans out of charity.

Then, society takes notice on the downtrodden and needy. Some good-hearted people take the initiative to do a fund-raising campaign. They go around selling coupons for a food-fair. “Have a heart,” they go around saying. “Do it for charity.” And people do it for charity. For love.

As time went by and modernization hit, people’s hearts start to grow cold. Doing kind deeds out of benevolence is no longer a norm. Volunteerism becomes a queer concept to an urbanized society. People just stopped being nice to one another as they freely did in the past. Giving is no longer as natural as it once was.

However, a remnant of people who champions the welfare of the downtrodden and needy remains. This small minority goes around, trying to make the world a better place for the less fortunate people. They start to collect donations for them. “Come on, have a heart,” they go around saying. “Do it for charity.” When people are compelled to give, it is a response to a cry for charity. Or in other words, sympathy.

Therefore, here we are today. The word charity is no longer understood as an expression of love. Charity is mainly understood as “giving to pitiable people.” Accepting charity becomes a shameful behavior.

Hence, we can see why the word “love” is used to replace “charity” in modern bible translations.

But then again, is it too late to revert back to the ancient understanding of the word “charity” in today's world? I think it's not possible. It makes more sense to just go on using the word “charity” the way we see it today.

Picture this: Mariah Carey wants to do a concert to aid the earthquake victims in Jogjakarta. Imagine what you'll print on the concert ticket. “LOVE concert. Admit one only.” Imagine how you will sell the tickets. “Come! Come! Come and buy tickets to Mariah Carey’s LOVE concert!”

Love concert?? Ummm… Hmmm… I think we’d better stick to charity.