1 Corinthians 13:4 Explained
"Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up." — 1 Corinthians 13:4 (KJV)
1 Corinthians 13:4 opens the Bible's most famous description of love — read at weddings worldwide, but written to a divided, prideful church as a rebuke and a cure.
Context
Paul is correcting the Corinthians' obsession with showy spiritual gifts. Chapter 13 interrupts to say: gifts without love are nothing. The 'love chapter' is not romantic poetry in context — it is a diagnostic for a community that loved its own giftedness more than its members.
What it means
'Charity' is the KJV's word for agape — committed, self-giving love. The verse defines it by what it does and does not do: patient ('suffereth long'), kind, not envious, not boastful, not arrogant. Love here is action and restraint, not feeling.
How to pray it
Pray this verse with your own name in place of 'charity': 'Am I patient? Am I kind? Do I envy? Am I puffed up?' Let it examine you before it comforts you. Then ask God to grow the love you lack.
Carry this verse with you
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