Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Esteem thy Brother as Thyself

Today I read Doctrine and Covenants section 38, which was a revelation given to the church at a conference. The main message of the section that I took away was to be one or you are not mine. It got me thinking as I was reading, what makes a man prideful? Pride is thinking you are better than someone else for whatever reason. So where does it come from?

I do not think that most people have parents that tell their children they are better than so and so. I know there are parents that tell their children they are better than "that", with that being all sorts of things from fighting with other children, to watching TV, to eating sweets, you name it and a parent has said it. But how many parents actually tell their children you are better than Timmy, or Suzy or insert name here? I really don't think it's very many.

So where does it come from? If children don't get the feeling that they are better than all others around then from parents, where does it start? Well, it's the natural man, we are born with it. It is one of the main things we were sent down here to overcome if we have a desire for it. Have you ever watched a toddler play with another child? They can have a very hard time sharing the first few times, especially if they are an only child. They certainly did not learn that from their parents, parents are always showering their children with toys and gifts so surely they must learn sharing from the parents. However, perhaps just like a cat, the child reasons that the reason the parents do all this for them is because they deserve it, and that is where the sense of entitlement comes from? I really don't know.

Have you ever noticed that humans aren't the only ones with pride? Animals can have it too. As I mentioned above, any cat owner will tell you that felines have tremendous pride in general. It's so interesting to watch different animals and their behaviors. Have you ever noticed that both cats and dogs depend upon their owners for food and water and yet they exhibit totally different behaviors? Dogs are friendly and humble and subservient, whereas cats act like they are entitled to such lavish treatment and act offended if it is not given quickly enough. Now don't get me wrong, I love cats and prefer them to dogs, but they are an excellent example of pride most of the time.

But in this section, the Lord wants us to overcome pride and become more focused on those around us. Verse 25 tells us to esteem our brother as ourselves. I always find it so funny that whenever someone in the church talks about King Benjamin's wonderful sermon in Mosiah 4 they almost always will point out that he is not talking about sharing money with people without, when as we have discussed that is exactly what he is talking about! And here, if we are to esteem our brethren as ourselves, does that not include money? Or are we so mean to ourselves that we deny ourselves all comforts? The Lord made the riches of the world and made some rich so that they might bless the lives of others. Some do it VERY well. I personally don't like Bill Gates very much and think his company went downhill once he stopped taking personal part in it, but the man uses his wealth the way it is meant to be used. He and his wife, to my knowledge, are constantly involved in charities and helping those in need. There are plenty others who use their wealth appropriately and oddly enough it seems to be those that have the most that have it figured out that money is not everything. It seems to be those that have enough for our needs that hoard it and lavish ourselves with all these unneeded things.

We most certainly need to take care of ourselves, and those we have stewardship over, most notably our families. But if there is left over we need to really consider what we are doing with it. Are we paying a GENEROUS fast offering every month? Are we helping those we see in need? It is a major blessing to just have a home, clothing to wear and food to eat. Not everyone in the world has these things. Now, some of the people without these things are without them for a reason and it would be quite dangerous to invite them into your homes and I do not advocate it. But if someone asks you for a dollar and you have it in your pocket, I was always taught that you give it and not worry about what they are going to use it for. I was always the person who would give away my last cracker to a friend if they asked. I do not say that to toot my own horn, but rather to point out that we can raise our children to be that way.

It actually is one of those things that becomes easier the more you do it. The more you try and overcome the natural man, the more "natural" it feels and the easier it becomes. It is up to us to want to overcome the natural man, and as we exhibit the behaviors that prove to our Heavenly Father that we DO want to overcome them, He will bless us and help us to become better than we are now. The easiest way though to overcome it and esteem thy brother as thyself is to cultivate charity. Charity is the easiest way to think of others before yourself. It's surprisingly easy to do. It all starts with desire and a prayer. And we can all do that, if we want. Until tomorrow.

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