"O, my beloved brethren, remember the awfulness in transgressing against that Holy God, and also the awfulness of yielding to the enticings of that cunning one. Remember, to be carnally-minded is death, and to be spiritually-minded is life eternal."
2 Nephi 9:39
Remembering awfulness probably wasn't on our list of the things that we wanted to do today, but I think that Jacob has a point here. Sometimes we gloss over the consequences of our actions, and the seriousness of losing the spirit. We think it's no big deal, we can repent later, or get it back tomorrow or whatever. And, while it is absolutely true that repentance works and we *can* repent at any time, we might not be considering how hard it will be after walking away, or the very real consequences of sin in our own lives.
God doesn't tell us not to sin just to be able to order us around. He tells us not to because sinning *hurts* us. We are harming ourselves, and often other people as well, when we sin. It isn't always obvious harm, but it is serious nevertheless, and we can see it in our lives when we start actively avoiding church or anything that reminds us of God because we don't want to feel guilt and pain. We can see it in our lives when the shine wears off of whatever obsession we are focused on and we don't even like it, or ourselves, anymore, but we stay focused there, trying to get that fleeting joy back, and missing being able to feel good about ourselves. There are many other examples. God is trying to save us from that hurt, and sadness, and despair, and saying that we can repent later doesn't save us from any of it either. We have to remember the awfulness in part so that we can remind ourselves to avoid making similar mistakes in the future.
No matter where we were, or where we are, God can help us come home to him. We can be clean again. We can be whole. Today, let's remember the awfulness and climb OUT of it, and remember never, ever to dive back in, but to stick with God, where there is joy and peace.
2 Nephi 9:39
Remembering awfulness probably wasn't on our list of the things that we wanted to do today, but I think that Jacob has a point here. Sometimes we gloss over the consequences of our actions, and the seriousness of losing the spirit. We think it's no big deal, we can repent later, or get it back tomorrow or whatever. And, while it is absolutely true that repentance works and we *can* repent at any time, we might not be considering how hard it will be after walking away, or the very real consequences of sin in our own lives.
God doesn't tell us not to sin just to be able to order us around. He tells us not to because sinning *hurts* us. We are harming ourselves, and often other people as well, when we sin. It isn't always obvious harm, but it is serious nevertheless, and we can see it in our lives when we start actively avoiding church or anything that reminds us of God because we don't want to feel guilt and pain. We can see it in our lives when the shine wears off of whatever obsession we are focused on and we don't even like it, or ourselves, anymore, but we stay focused there, trying to get that fleeting joy back, and missing being able to feel good about ourselves. There are many other examples. God is trying to save us from that hurt, and sadness, and despair, and saying that we can repent later doesn't save us from any of it either. We have to remember the awfulness in part so that we can remind ourselves to avoid making similar mistakes in the future.
No matter where we were, or where we are, God can help us come home to him. We can be clean again. We can be whole. Today, let's remember the awfulness and climb OUT of it, and remember never, ever to dive back in, but to stick with God, where there is joy and peace.
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