"And you are to be equal, or in other words, you are to have equal claims on the properties, for the benefit of managing the concerns of your stewardships, every man according to his wants and his needs, inasmuch as his wants are just—
And all this for the benefit of the church of the living God, that every man may improve upon his talent, that every man may gain other talents, yea, even an hundred fold, to be cast into the Lord’s storehouse, to become the common property of the whole church—
Every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with an eye single to the glory of God."
Doctrine and Covenants 82:17-19
God wants us to be equal. I think it is so hard to get that through our skulls sometimes, because we live in this inherently unequal society, and when we dream of equality, we are almost always just dreaming of switching spots, and having a chance to be among the elite... same situation, just we get the nice clothes and houses instead of those other guys who don't seem like they deserve it.
I think it comes back to the basic covetousness that God warns us about in the 10 commandments. We want what we don't have, and we keep looking elsewhere rather than being thankful and feeling blessed for the things that we do have. Here, though, God wants us all to be able to have enough to develop our talents. God isn't going to personally come down and divide up the piles equally though... he is never going to force the issue. Of our free agency, we need to get to a point where we actually want to be equal. That's hard by itself, and then figuring out how to start is challenging as well.
This week, let's start out small. Let's do an experiment and really try to seek the interest of our neighbors. Let's see if we can help them with what *they* want, rather than what we want. Let's also work on loving and being happy for the people around us, whether rich or poor and whether talented in ways that we admire, or dedicated to ideas that we don't much like. Let's begin learning this equality stuff, even though it is hard. Let's give, and love, and serve, and not expect or demand. Let's take our needs to the Lord, and watch him provide. :)
And all this for the benefit of the church of the living God, that every man may improve upon his talent, that every man may gain other talents, yea, even an hundred fold, to be cast into the Lord’s storehouse, to become the common property of the whole church—
Every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with an eye single to the glory of God."
Doctrine and Covenants 82:17-19
God wants us to be equal. I think it is so hard to get that through our skulls sometimes, because we live in this inherently unequal society, and when we dream of equality, we are almost always just dreaming of switching spots, and having a chance to be among the elite... same situation, just we get the nice clothes and houses instead of those other guys who don't seem like they deserve it.
I think it comes back to the basic covetousness that God warns us about in the 10 commandments. We want what we don't have, and we keep looking elsewhere rather than being thankful and feeling blessed for the things that we do have. Here, though, God wants us all to be able to have enough to develop our talents. God isn't going to personally come down and divide up the piles equally though... he is never going to force the issue. Of our free agency, we need to get to a point where we actually want to be equal. That's hard by itself, and then figuring out how to start is challenging as well.
This week, let's start out small. Let's do an experiment and really try to seek the interest of our neighbors. Let's see if we can help them with what *they* want, rather than what we want. Let's also work on loving and being happy for the people around us, whether rich or poor and whether talented in ways that we admire, or dedicated to ideas that we don't much like. Let's begin learning this equality stuff, even though it is hard. Let's give, and love, and serve, and not expect or demand. Let's take our needs to the Lord, and watch him provide. :)
This is just what a few of us need to hear, especially after what has been happening (again) in Ferguson. God bless you Suzanne!
ReplyDeleteThanks Amanda. Glad you liked it.
ReplyDelete