Charles Spurgeon Commentary 1 Corinthians 13:3

"And if I bestow all my goods to feed [the poor], and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing." — 1 Corinthians 13:3 (ASV)

Love is a matter of the heart, and if the heart is not right with God, external acts, though they are very similar to the highest acts that flow from love, are of no service. God requires the heart to be right, and if that is not right, whatever comes out of us is not acceptable in his sight.