Sunday, June 28, 2009

Gimme, gimme, gimme...


Ligia and I have been called as substitute primary teachers in our ward here in Bloomington. There is a new rule that if a guy is teaching, there have to be two male teachers in the classroom. Is that a new rule by the way? Anyway, one of the male teachers was gone today, so I sat in on the class. Ligia on the other hand, got to go to Sunday School and apparently the lesson was on coveting. As we were coming home she was telling me about the lesson and some of the things that she learned and it roused some thoughts in my mind.

She was telling me about how when we covet something, we give it control over us. In essence, we subject ourselves to it and are then found in bondage. Anyway, anybody who knows me knows what I started thinking about immediately. That of course would be "freedom". It's so true. When we covet something, we become ungrateful for what we have, and then our sole concentration is focused on that object. We stop thinking about God, our family, all of our blessings, and we think only of what we lack, what we don't have, and of how that object would make us happy. What a lie that is.

Conversely, what liberates us is enjoying and being grateful for what we already have. And in fact, it's even more than that; it's acknowledging that all we have comes from God, and that if he requires it of us, being able to give it up. This is when we find true freedom and happiness. And, I can testify that when I do this, Heavenly Father always provides for not only my needs, but also my wants.

I started thinking about entitlement. We're living in the entitlement generation. It's so sickening to see everyone think that they actually deserve everything without working for it. And it's even more frustrating when I feel those tendencies in myself. The thing is, entitlement is pretty much the same thing as covetousness.

I remember last year, in Philadelphia, I heard an ad on the radio about healthcare and how it's our right. Needless to say, I was pretty upset to hear it. The entitlement we as a nation feel is so deep that we're at great risk. There are however a few things that we are entitled to, namely; life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This encompasses our freedom to practice religion, own property, protect and provide for our families, etc. The right to receive healthcare is a crock. It's a lie because the one thing that we don't have a right to do is infringe on the rights of another, and with the redistribution of wealth that is public healthcare, we infringe on the rights of those who we steal from to pay for it. And this is the problem with entitlement. When we are "entitled" to everything, we lose the only thing that we're truly entitled to which is freedom.

I'm so grateful that we have prophets and apostles who have so plainly taught us these truths for years now. Despite all that is going on now with the government being absolutely retarded and corrupt, I'm confident that things will get better. It really makes me happy to see my children and the love that they have for each other and our family as a whole. Anyway, hope you've all enjoyed these thoughts.

2 comments:

Stephen said...

What I enjoyed is that you wrote them, and wrote them well at that.

Elliot said...

I enjoyed them too.

They make me think of King Benjamin's address to his people and also of our nothingness.

Love you,
Elliot

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