"O how foolish, and how vain, and how evil, and devilish, and how quick to do iniquity, and how slow to do good, are the children of men; yea, how quick to hearken unto the words of the evil one, and to set their hearts upon the vain things of the world!
Yea, how quick to be lifted up in pride; yea, how quick to boast, and do all manner of that which is iniquity; and how slow are they to remember the Lord their God, and to give ear unto his counsels, yea, how slow to walk in wisdom’s paths!
Behold, they do not desire that the Lord their God, who hath created them, should rule and reign over them; notwithstanding his great goodness and his mercy towards them, they do set at naught his counsels, and they will not that he should be their guide."
Helaman 12:4-6
I didn't choose this scripture so that we can wallow in discouragement and give up, and I don't think that it was written for that reason either. I think that sometimes we really need a spiritual mirror placed in front of us, so that we can see what we look like, who we are, and the state of our souls. We get that sort of mirror through meditation and prayer, because God grants us self-awareness sometimes so that we can grow and change. And maybe this is the next best thing... looking at the state of all the children of men, and measuring ourselves against the specific complaints. Just as the apostles sitting with Christ asked, "Lord, is it I?" (Matthew 26:22), it is good to examine ourselves to see if we are betraying God through our actions.
Today, let's think about whether these things can be said of us, and if so, then let's start changing. Spiritual makeover time. I think especially the desire part... do we really want God to reign over us? If not, that's understandable, but we have a ways to go in our understanding of the Lord and perhaps in overcoming our own rebellious natures. :) Let's be watchful and quash our own pride when we start thinking we are cooler than other people. Let's be quicker to do good, and stop ourselves from doing evil. Let's heed God's counsel, and seek his guidance.
Yea, how quick to be lifted up in pride; yea, how quick to boast, and do all manner of that which is iniquity; and how slow are they to remember the Lord their God, and to give ear unto his counsels, yea, how slow to walk in wisdom’s paths!
Behold, they do not desire that the Lord their God, who hath created them, should rule and reign over them; notwithstanding his great goodness and his mercy towards them, they do set at naught his counsels, and they will not that he should be their guide."
Helaman 12:4-6
I didn't choose this scripture so that we can wallow in discouragement and give up, and I don't think that it was written for that reason either. I think that sometimes we really need a spiritual mirror placed in front of us, so that we can see what we look like, who we are, and the state of our souls. We get that sort of mirror through meditation and prayer, because God grants us self-awareness sometimes so that we can grow and change. And maybe this is the next best thing... looking at the state of all the children of men, and measuring ourselves against the specific complaints. Just as the apostles sitting with Christ asked, "Lord, is it I?" (Matthew 26:22), it is good to examine ourselves to see if we are betraying God through our actions.
Today, let's think about whether these things can be said of us, and if so, then let's start changing. Spiritual makeover time. I think especially the desire part... do we really want God to reign over us? If not, that's understandable, but we have a ways to go in our understanding of the Lord and perhaps in overcoming our own rebellious natures. :) Let's be watchful and quash our own pride when we start thinking we are cooler than other people. Let's be quicker to do good, and stop ourselves from doing evil. Let's heed God's counsel, and seek his guidance.
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