"And after three days, having counseled with his priests, he caused that he should again be brought before him.
And he said unto him: Abinadi, we have found an accusation against thee, and thou art worthy of death."
Mosiah 17:6-7
It's interesting that King Noah and his priests found an accusation against Abinadi at this point. Three verses earlier, the king sent his servants to slay Abinadi, but now it is presumably more public and he is looking to justify his actions.
Maybe this is something that we can learn from on both sides of the equation. King Noah's side teaches us not to let wealth, title, or position get in the way of listening to the Lord. King Noah's pride got in the way of him making a good decision here, and his justifications didn't save him. On Abinadi's side, even though his life is in danger, he listens to the Lord and shares the message that he came to share. Maybe he didn't know what good it would do (converting one of the priests and starting a new religious movement in the kingdom), but God knew, and Abinadi trusted him, even to the point of giving up his life. And that sacrifice made a huge difference.
Today we likely won't have to sacrifice our lives for the Lord, but we can live for him. Let's trust him to know what will make a difference, and let's do as God asks, not letting pride or anything else get in the way of our obedience. If we have to go out "finding reasons" to justify our preselected actions, let's find reasons to justify our faith rather than the other way around.
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