"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?"
Romans 6:16
The idea here, that by our actions we choose to become the servants either of God or Satan / sin or righteousness, is seen throughout the scriptures. For instance, Matthew 6:24 and 3 Nephi 13:24 talk about not being able to serve two masters, explaining that we have to choose between God and Mammon (basically evil influences). The idea in part being "no fence-sitting." Joshua 24:15 also tells us to "choose you this day whom ye will serve." He lays out some choices, but they too come down to God and not-God, and not-God is the same as serving Satan or serving sin.
We're either going towards God or away from him. We can't stand still, and we can't sit on the fence. The war that began in the premortal existence continues, and we have to choose sides. ... And as tempting as it is to believe that we can choose ourselves or some third option, it is an illusion. If we don't choose God/righteousness, then we *are* choosing Satan/sin... because walking away from God is the same as choosing evil.
By our actions we are choosing our futures and choosing who to bind ourselves to. Let's remember that Christ said in Matthew 11:30 that "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." He offers us challenges and trials so that we can learn, but also rest and peace and love and goodness. His goal is to help us learn the truth that can set us free, through growing and improving and becoming more like him. Choosing Satan binds us with chains, and we become slaves to our own choices as we sin... trapped in lies or limited by our addictions and countless burned bridges. Today, let's choose God, who loves us and seeks to give us more and more freedom as we can handle it (like learning to ride a bike and graduating from training wheels). Let's be servants of righteousness rather than slaves to sin.
Romans 6:16
The idea here, that by our actions we choose to become the servants either of God or Satan / sin or righteousness, is seen throughout the scriptures. For instance, Matthew 6:24 and 3 Nephi 13:24 talk about not being able to serve two masters, explaining that we have to choose between God and Mammon (basically evil influences). The idea in part being "no fence-sitting." Joshua 24:15 also tells us to "choose you this day whom ye will serve." He lays out some choices, but they too come down to God and not-God, and not-God is the same as serving Satan or serving sin.
We're either going towards God or away from him. We can't stand still, and we can't sit on the fence. The war that began in the premortal existence continues, and we have to choose sides. ... And as tempting as it is to believe that we can choose ourselves or some third option, it is an illusion. If we don't choose God/righteousness, then we *are* choosing Satan/sin... because walking away from God is the same as choosing evil.
By our actions we are choosing our futures and choosing who to bind ourselves to. Let's remember that Christ said in Matthew 11:30 that "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." He offers us challenges and trials so that we can learn, but also rest and peace and love and goodness. His goal is to help us learn the truth that can set us free, through growing and improving and becoming more like him. Choosing Satan binds us with chains, and we become slaves to our own choices as we sin... trapped in lies or limited by our addictions and countless burned bridges. Today, let's choose God, who loves us and seeks to give us more and more freedom as we can handle it (like learning to ride a bike and graduating from training wheels). Let's be servants of righteousness rather than slaves to sin.
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