"Therefore, if ye do not remember to be charitable, ye are as dross, which the refiners do cast out, (it being of no worth) and is trodden under foot of men."
Alma 34:29
Another excellent reminder from this chapter. We're not going to be successful in this life just by ourselves... no matter how good we learn to be in the avoidance of sin, we need to also do good, and love and serve other people if we are going to learn to walk God's path.
This is a good thing also, because often we get too caught up in ourselves and that focus can lead to anxiety and paranoia as we worry about how everything in the world affects us. If we take a step back and instead focus on assisting and loving others, those worries often become more manageable and sometimes even disappear as God blesses us for helping each other and making the world a better place. :)
None of this is meant to make us feel worthless... God doesn't want that. He values us. But like King Benjamin's sermon about comparing ourselves to dust, we come away with a better understanding of where worth comes from, and it isn't just from lifting ourselves up... it comes from lifting others. Christ is the best person that ever lived, not because of his personal righteousness, although of course that was amazing and enabled him to do great things... what makes him the very best is that he did all of it for us, sacrificing worldly ambitions and possibilities to help all of us accomplish something we couldn't accomplish alone.
Today, let's remember that what makes us great is the way that we treat other people and the love and compassion that we show them. That doesn't mean that we should give up working towards personal righteousness of course... but let's remember that we need each other, and that our lives are intertwined. Let's make a renewed effort to care for the people around us.
Alma 34:29
Another excellent reminder from this chapter. We're not going to be successful in this life just by ourselves... no matter how good we learn to be in the avoidance of sin, we need to also do good, and love and serve other people if we are going to learn to walk God's path.
This is a good thing also, because often we get too caught up in ourselves and that focus can lead to anxiety and paranoia as we worry about how everything in the world affects us. If we take a step back and instead focus on assisting and loving others, those worries often become more manageable and sometimes even disappear as God blesses us for helping each other and making the world a better place. :)
None of this is meant to make us feel worthless... God doesn't want that. He values us. But like King Benjamin's sermon about comparing ourselves to dust, we come away with a better understanding of where worth comes from, and it isn't just from lifting ourselves up... it comes from lifting others. Christ is the best person that ever lived, not because of his personal righteousness, although of course that was amazing and enabled him to do great things... what makes him the very best is that he did all of it for us, sacrificing worldly ambitions and possibilities to help all of us accomplish something we couldn't accomplish alone.
Today, let's remember that what makes us great is the way that we treat other people and the love and compassion that we show them. That doesn't mean that we should give up working towards personal righteousness of course... but let's remember that we need each other, and that our lives are intertwined. Let's make a renewed effort to care for the people around us.
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