The Greek term agape is one of the most misunderstood terms in the Bible. It is often translated as “love” in today’s translations. But that gives a false sense of the word since too often we associate it with a feeling. This feeling is something we can feel for our spouse or children or even those we share something in common. Don’t get me wrong, those feelings are important and can build bonds that are invaluable and make life worthwhile. That is why Greek had different terms for such feelings. They had eros for the passion of lovers and those feelings a husband and wife have for one another, and storge for the family bonds and philia for the comradeship of friends. But agape was something different. Agape is love in action. I think the King James Bible had a better translation for it when it said “charity.”

Dr David Wood has an interesting take on this. Dr Wood admits to being a psychopath. He became a Christian while in prison for attacking his father with a hammer. He admits that he has no sense of empathy or feeling of guilt. He has said he could slit someone’s throat and have no problem sleeping. People have asked him, “How can a psychopath be a Christian without love?” He has pointed out that we are called to love or enemies and those who persecute us, but how can we have warm feeling for those who try to kill us? We can’t but we can feed them when they are hungry, and give them water when they are thirsty, and clothe them when they are naked. Agape has nothing to do with feeling but everything to do with action.

I had a friend make the claim that everywhere we see the word agape in the Bible it is associated with action. As in “God so agaped the world that he gave His son.” Or when Jesus asked Peter if he agaped Him it was followed by the command to care for His sheep. I have raked my brains, and I can’t find a counter argument to that.

Look at I Corinthians 13 and talks about all the wonderful things we strife to achieve: the ability to perform miracles, to gain all knowledge, to understand the mysteries of God, but without agape it is nothing. Even if we show our righteousness by giving up all things in this world, even our lives, but it is all self-centered. Agape is looking outward. That is why charity is much better term, especially if we follow Jesus’s direction of keeping it secret.

Charity is the better translation for it has nothing to do with feeling and everything with action. If the feeling follows then wonderful, but the action is what matters.

#Agape, #Charity