At the end, Paul lists four of the most important aspects of love. Here we see that he tells them that they should believe all things. Belief in the Biblical perspective is trust. The second thing that he tells them to do is to hope all things. In the Bible, hope is also viewed differently than it is today. We might say that we hope to find a million dollars, but we do not think it will actually happen. In the New Testament, hope is a sense of expectation of something being realized. The person who hopes fully believes that what is hoped for will come about.

These ideas of belief and hope are fundamental to every relationship. Love trusts those around them. In order to effectively deal with people we have to trust what they say, and that actions will back up what they have said. Intertwined with trust is true forgiveness. If we do not believe the person is truly sorry, or if we do not have hope that their future actions will change, then that relationship is covered in doubt and jealousy. Love trusts easily, believing and hoping the best about the other person.

Finally, love gives others the benefit of the doubt. Imagine you see a friend while driving and wave and honk at them. In turn they ignore you. Those acting without love will immediate suspect that the person is either mad at them or is just incredibly rude. The loving person gives them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe their radio was on too loud. Maybe they were really struggling with something and had their focus on that so completely that they did not notice you. Whatever the case is, we make sure that we do not assume the worst. If we are worried they are upset with us, then love might ask to make sure, but in doing so, they are careful not to accuse. Situations similar to this happen all the time, both in conversations and actions. Do we give others the benefit of the doubt?