“bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
believes all things,
There is a close correlation between belief and love. It is difficult to love someone and not trust them. Love is not cynical and suspicious but believes the best about others. It gives them the benefit of the doubt. Love does not enter into suspicion unless there are facts to support it. The idea here is not naiveté or gullibility since love does not operate on credulity.
PRINCIPLE:
Love attributes the best motives to people until it knows otherwise.
APPLICATION:
The flesh is always ready to believe the worst about someone, but love does not yield to suspicious doubt. Some people carry the attitude that “there is something rotten in Demark.” Love believes the best about others and refuses to yield to suspicious doubt. It puts the best interpretation of motives and is not cynical or suspicious. When love has no evidence, it believes the best. It will believe the best about the motives of a person. It prefers to credit good intentions and give the benefit of the doubt.
This does not mean that love is gullible or credulous or will swallow anything anyone says. It puts the best interpretation of the motives of others until it knows otherwise. It is not suspicious, but it is not Pollyanna in its approach. Love carries a readiness to think the best of people. Mutual trust is crucial for healthy relationships.
