Today I read Mosiah 9. It is a basic chapter about King Zeniff and his desire to possess the land of Nephi. I was impressed in this chapter how it is an almost perfect case study of the Natural Man.
In Mosiah 3:19 we learn that the natural man is an enemy to God and has been since the fall of Adam. In this chapter, Mosiah 9, we are given several examples of the natural man and with a little thought, it is no wonder why these qualities would make one an enemy to God.
In verse 2 we learn that the natural man is blood thirsty. I have often wondered why so many people in this world have a problem with their temper. They lose all control of themselves and perhaps worst of all, they then seek to excuse their behavior by saying they lost their temper. As if that should wipe the slate clean and we shouldn't hold people accountable for their actions when they have lost their temper. The idea is as idiotic as not holding people accountable for their actions when they are drunk.
The Lord has always been against things that take away a persons agency. Run away emotions can be addictive just like alcohol is. However, it is still no excuse for it happening. I can be remarkably un-Christlike at times. I hate with a passion someone who would strike their loved ones because they cannot control their emotions. I have been so mad before that I wanted to hit someone, but I cannot fathom why someone would strike their spouse or children. Such actions are quite reprehensible!
We learn in verse 10 - 12 that the natural man is lazy. In Moses 1:39 we learn that our God is a god of work. And the question I always ask myself is, if our God is a god of work why should we not work? It sickens me how some people could work if they chose to and don't. Especially when I know some people would work if their bodies would allow them to, but they won't. It's almost as disturbing at all the so called unwanted pregnancies of people who have no control and are promiscuous, and yet some very worthy, wonderful people fight and struggle for years to have a baby!
But I digress, the natural man is lazy and desires not to work, either for the common good or for his/her own good. We can also infer from this chapter that the natural man seeks to solve his/her problems through violence. War is most definitely an invention of the natural man. Now, some may argue that God in the Old Testament sent His people to war. While this is true, I am a believer that God can only use the tools that His worshipers understand. And the fact of the matter is that during those times, His followers, the Israelites, were a product of their environment, one of violence. Nonetheless, no one would argue that the first recorded violence was done by Cain and was most definitely a product of the devil and his influence.
This chapter is quite instructive in helping us to know the paths we should walk if only by showing us what NOT to do. I hope that all of us put off the natural man and do their best to "become as a little child: submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father." Until tomorrow.
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