December 1

Charity envieth not, ... thinketh no evil — 1 Cor 13:4-5

Why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? — Rom 14:10

He that despiseth his neighbor sinneth. — Prov 14:21

Look thou with pity on a brother’s fall,
But dwell not with stern anger on his fault;
The grace of God alone holds thee, holds all;
Were that withdrawn, thou too wouldst swerve and halt.
—J. EDMESTON.

If, on hearing of the fall of a brother, however differing or severed from us, we feel the least inclination to linger over it, instead of hiding it in grief and shame, or veiling it in the love which covereth a multitude of sins; if, in seeing a joy or a grace or an effective service given to others, we do not rejoice, but feel depressed, let us be very watchful; the most diabolical of passions may mask itself as humility, or zeal for the glory of God.
—ELIZABETH CHARLES.

Love taketh up no malign elements; its spirit prompteth it to cover in mercy all things that ought not to be exposed, to believe all of good that can be believed, to hope all things that a good God makes possible, and to endure all things that the hope may be made good.
—J. H. THOM.