"That they should let no pride nor haughtiness disturb their peace; that every man should esteem his neighbor as himself, laboring with their own hands for their support."
Mosiah 27:4
This is an interesting idea, that pride disturbs our peace. Not the usual way that we think of pride. Usually we think of it in terms of what we deserve or what we are worth or something like that... and I think it is instructive that we're having the total wrong conversation with ourselves. If we focused on what would bring us the most peace, or even how we could be most at peace with ourselves, we might get a lot farther towards serious self-improvement.
The very idea that we are more important that other people... individually or collectively as any group, has some inherent conflict baked into it. If we think we are better, then we are going to be biased and discriminatory towards someone... individuals or groups. Even if it is just whoever cut us off in traffic, or whoever we cut off who cussed us out, or someone on the internet we'll never see again, whoever got that promotion at work, whoever didn't give US that promotion, or random person 14 who has insane political views (because they contradict our own).
Those conflicts mess with our peace exactly because we see ourselves in a certain way, and other people in a less flattering way. If we saw others as we see ourselves, then we would understand that the other person cut us off accidentally because they couldn't see, or that they were in a hurry and needed to pick up the kids, or whatever excuse we allow ourselves. We would understand that the guy on the other political side of the spectrum means well and wants the best for everyone. We would see that the person who got the promotion was working hard and would probably be a good fit for the company. I think we mess up our own peace a lot because we want everything to go right for us, and we're not really all that bummed out when bad things happen to others, because hey, not us.
God talks about chosen people, peculiar people, etc.... so does that mean that he can play favorites and we can't? In a way, sure. God can do a lot of things that we can't/shouldn't. However, I don't think that there is really any conflict there. God's chosen people aren't chosen because they are better than anyone else. They are chosen because they do as God asks, he wants to choose everyone, and anyone can get in. Instead of an elite club, it is probably more like the red cross... you are in it because you joined up and wanted to help, and being there gives you some opportunities to serve, help, and meet cool people. ... But it doesn't make you inherently better than anyone else.
We get caught up in the comparison trap too often, thinking that this or that makes us better. Today, let's change that internal conversation and think about how we can help. Some of the biggest problems in our lives I think we could actually tackle if we could let go of that pride and really work to see the situation in another way.
Mosiah 27:4
This is an interesting idea, that pride disturbs our peace. Not the usual way that we think of pride. Usually we think of it in terms of what we deserve or what we are worth or something like that... and I think it is instructive that we're having the total wrong conversation with ourselves. If we focused on what would bring us the most peace, or even how we could be most at peace with ourselves, we might get a lot farther towards serious self-improvement.
The very idea that we are more important that other people... individually or collectively as any group, has some inherent conflict baked into it. If we think we are better, then we are going to be biased and discriminatory towards someone... individuals or groups. Even if it is just whoever cut us off in traffic, or whoever we cut off who cussed us out, or someone on the internet we'll never see again, whoever got that promotion at work, whoever didn't give US that promotion, or random person 14 who has insane political views (because they contradict our own).
Those conflicts mess with our peace exactly because we see ourselves in a certain way, and other people in a less flattering way. If we saw others as we see ourselves, then we would understand that the other person cut us off accidentally because they couldn't see, or that they were in a hurry and needed to pick up the kids, or whatever excuse we allow ourselves. We would understand that the guy on the other political side of the spectrum means well and wants the best for everyone. We would see that the person who got the promotion was working hard and would probably be a good fit for the company. I think we mess up our own peace a lot because we want everything to go right for us, and we're not really all that bummed out when bad things happen to others, because hey, not us.
God talks about chosen people, peculiar people, etc.... so does that mean that he can play favorites and we can't? In a way, sure. God can do a lot of things that we can't/shouldn't. However, I don't think that there is really any conflict there. God's chosen people aren't chosen because they are better than anyone else. They are chosen because they do as God asks, he wants to choose everyone, and anyone can get in. Instead of an elite club, it is probably more like the red cross... you are in it because you joined up and wanted to help, and being there gives you some opportunities to serve, help, and meet cool people. ... But it doesn't make you inherently better than anyone else.
We get caught up in the comparison trap too often, thinking that this or that makes us better. Today, let's change that internal conversation and think about how we can help. Some of the biggest problems in our lives I think we could actually tackle if we could let go of that pride and really work to see the situation in another way.
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