Faith, Hope, and Charity

"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." -1 Corinthians 13:13 (KJV)

A famous verse. And yes, "Charity" (also translated as "Love", "Kindness", "Consideration", etc.) is the greatest. And I would dare say that "Faith" would be considered by most to be the second. But what about "Hope"? Seems to me (and others) that "Hope" is usually left behind. And yet, it is vital. For when one loses hope, one gives up.

But then there's the "other" kind of hope; the kind that's debilitating because you refuse to let go. It's not really "hope", but rather "anti-hope" or "false hope". Trouble is, you can't always differentiate between the two. Nor can you always rely on others to tell you either. For one person's "false hope" is another's "true hope". And how can you be so certain that you are right and everyone else is wrong?

I'm not sure I have an answer.

Perhaps the best advice I can think of to share is to not let yourslef become debillitated over your hopes. Work towards them, yes, but don't let them run your life. Don't just sit around "waiting" for them to become reality.

On the other side, don't be too quick to "give up" either. We are living in a time when "instant gratification" seems to be the code that most live by: if it doesn't happen right this moment, then it's not worth it. Which is a lie: most things that are "worth it" require work and, more often than not, take time.

Though there are times when, eventually, you "must" give-up. Unfortunately, only you can decide when that time has come. Some will think you gave up too soon; others, not soon enough; and still others that you shouldn't have given up at all.

Personally, I hate to give up. But yes, even I have done so. The hardest part is trying to figure out which things are worth continuing to hope for and which to give up on.

I suppose the best I can do is hope that I make the right choices.