Today I read Revelation 6 where the Savior opens the first 5 seals in the book with the seven seals. This is the chapter that the 4 horsemen of the Apocalypse that sometimes appear in other literature come from. I've often wondered just why the natural man digresses to hitting to get his/her point across. I mean, what is the point of war and fighting anyway? He/she isn't doing what I want so I'm going to hit them until they do? Or even worse I'm going to kill them? And it's not a learned behavior. My daughter has never seen anyone hit another person in her life and yet she learned to hit when she's angry just the same.
It really hits home and makes you think about King Benjamin and what he told his people in Mosiah 3 that the natural man is an enemy to God and has been since the fall of Adam and will be forever and ever until they yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit. It makes me wonder where the natural man came from. It truly is natural because, to my understanding, Satan does not tempt little children under the age of 8 years old, yet those same children can make all kinds of wrong choices. This is because of the natural man. But the good thing is with a little child is it is really easy to teach them the right way and they love to learn about God and Jesus Christ. It is really easy for them to feel the Spirit.
I love to watch my daughter as she imitates us by folding her little arms when it's time for prayer and the way she says "amen" at the end. It is truly heartwarming to see her doing those things. And it is all because we are taking the time and making the effort to teach her the right things to do and how to do them. She loves to read the scriptures and have them read to her. She will bring us her copy of the Book of Mormon from time to time, even if we have already read scriptures for the day, and look at us with her pleading eyes. That is how you combat the natural man from an early age. It is probably the best, most amazing thing in the world to see her love the things of God and to ask for them.
It is possible to overcome the natural man in all of us, but it takes work. Just like overcoming an addiction it takes time to overcome. And it is something that you have to work at to change, it will not just happen on its own for most of us. We have to make conscious choices to become better men and women and to shun the things of the world. Now the good news is that the more we do it, the easier it becomes. When we choose the right and shun the evil of the world that we don't want to be part of anymore the things of the world become increasingly abhorrent to us. I remember I had a conversation with a co-worker the other day about a popular show called "Spartacus". I mentioned that I had no interest in it because it was a show about violence interspersed with nudity and vulgar language. This co-worker is a devout Christian and shared my thoughts on the subject, but it is one of the most popular shows around these days. It makes me sick to my stomach even thinking about it. What is wrong with people, why do they seek out such things? When I think about it I can understand how people could watch the old Roman gladiator games where people killed each other for the people's amusement. Very disturbing and disgusting.
As time goes on and we approach the Savior's second coming things are only going to get worse and the gulf separating the Saints and those that desire to live the laws of God, and the rest of the world are only going to get wider. We have to take a stance and make sure that we are on the side of righteousness and that our feet are firmly planted in the Gospel. We must be the beacons of light that the world will look to in order to overcome what is to come. Because it has to get worse before it can get better. But if we will trust in God and Jesus Christ, no matter how bad it gets here on the earth, we will secure for ourselves blessings in heaven. And that is worth any price! Until tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment