A Writers Block

I went to a private Christian school for my elementary years and one of the requirements throughout the years was the memorization of scripture. It was something I actually liked doing, although I can't say I remember more than 4 or 5 long passages and a handful of verses, but one such passage that "stuck" was 1 Corinthians 13. I'm currently going through that chapter, taking it one verse at a time. I don't know if I have ever done it so slowly before. It affords an almost out of context focus on their meanings.  Today was verse three:  "If I give away all I possess to the poor, and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing."  First, it seemed interesting that we could gain anything by surrendering. Why would that be a motivator? Sadly, I'm guessing that humans don't do much of anything without some promise of gain. Paul, the writer, knew that.  I tabled that thought and went on to the meaning of the word surrender. To su