To soothe the unhappy, to sympathize with their misfortunes, to compassionate their miseries, and to restore peace to their troubled minds, is the great aim we have in view. On this basis we form our friendships and establish our connections. William Preston, 1772.
Charity never fails.
The Corinthians had been brought together in new and strange ways. They represented differences in personality, in status, and in opinion. They were far from perfect, but possessed the ability to make the fellowship work. Paul expresses the nature of charity in a series of active verbs, pleading with the Corinthians to give Christian charity a chance to prove what it could do for them. To suffer long creates a passive image of self-control, of not retaliating when hurt, of not nursing a grudge, of not becoming bitter.