"Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient is the day unto the evil thereof."
3 Nephi 13:34
I think that this is interesting, especially in light of the "eternal perspective" idea. :) Immediate gratification is bad, so we should think long-term, right? But how does that relate to this verse? :) Now, some will say that this scripture was meant only for the apostles, and that it doesn't apply to us... a popular argument, and you can use it if you like... but I think that it probably applies.
I think that the eternal perspective idea makes sense in the sense that we shouldn't risk eternity for a temporary fix of whatever our particular obsession is. But we have to balance that with this advice, and what I see here is that we're supposed to focus on now... being happy now, addressing the problems we have *today*... We have plenty of evil things to worry about already without worrying about all the bad things that might happen later. We already have good things that can make us happy today... we shouldn't have to focus on future happiness in order to deal with present despair.
So, while we're learning to balance long term thinking with immediate gratification, let's also remember not to put off solving the things that we need to face today. :) Let's learn to be happy today, in the moment with God, and not think that all happiness comes after a life of suffering... or get discouraged thinking of the lifetime ahead where we also might have to face hard choices. :) Today we have enough to worry about. Let's not make it worse. :)
3 Nephi 13:34
I think that this is interesting, especially in light of the "eternal perspective" idea. :) Immediate gratification is bad, so we should think long-term, right? But how does that relate to this verse? :) Now, some will say that this scripture was meant only for the apostles, and that it doesn't apply to us... a popular argument, and you can use it if you like... but I think that it probably applies.
I think that the eternal perspective idea makes sense in the sense that we shouldn't risk eternity for a temporary fix of whatever our particular obsession is. But we have to balance that with this advice, and what I see here is that we're supposed to focus on now... being happy now, addressing the problems we have *today*... We have plenty of evil things to worry about already without worrying about all the bad things that might happen later. We already have good things that can make us happy today... we shouldn't have to focus on future happiness in order to deal with present despair.
So, while we're learning to balance long term thinking with immediate gratification, let's also remember not to put off solving the things that we need to face today. :) Let's learn to be happy today, in the moment with God, and not think that all happiness comes after a life of suffering... or get discouraged thinking of the lifetime ahead where we also might have to face hard choices. :) Today we have enough to worry about. Let's not make it worse. :)
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