Priorities

Today I read Hebrews 12 which Paul talks about God's love for us. It is very easy to become confused about how people feel about us in this life because Satan has done a very good job of confusing us into thinking that if we love someone we will allow them to do whatever they want or give them anything that they desire. How unrealistic that is and we are now seeing the results of such "love" in this day and age when we have thousands of adults completely unprepared to enter into the world and take part in it as an upstanding citizen. They have been given everything they ever asked for and as such are not ready for the real world and its disappointments that are sure to come when they hear the word "no" for the very first time.

I have often wondered what prompts people to not discipline their children. Is it fear that the child won't love you any more? Is it laziness? Is it lack of understanding on how to discipline? I think for some people it's a combination of several of these things. I think a lot of parents try and discipline their children to a point but then they get worn down and so after awhile, they let the child get away with it. My sister had such a dilemma not too long ago where her oldest was begging for something for literally two days to the point where she almost gave in just to get some peace and quiet from him. Fortunately for them all, she did not give in. That would not have been a good thing for any of them and would have taught her son that if he whined long enough he would get what he wanted.

Paul mentions that we have all been disciplined by our earthly fathers and yet we revere him, how much more should we revere the father of our spirits when He disciplines us? The love we have for our father here on earth pales in comparison to the love we have for our Heavenly Father, or should have for Him. He has done SO much more for us than our earthly father has. Our Heavenly Father created our spirits, gave us life and created this world for us to live in, to grow and realize our potential. Without Him we literally would be nothing. We would not have anything at all. Our earthly father is a mirror of our Heavenly Father. He gave us a physical body to live in. He created a home here on earth for us to live in. Without him we would not be here on the earth. Just as we love and revere him we should also love and revere our Heavenly Father. It is important that just as we cultivate a relationship with our earthly father, that we cultivate one with our Heavenly Father. I would daresay it's vastly MORE important actually.

As we strive to become better men and women and make our goals and our New Year's Resolutions with the start of the new year, we need to make sure that we are setting goals that will get us where we want to be spiritually. Lots of people set goals to get in shape physically, but we need to make sure we are getting in shape spiritually. We need to make sure we are saying our prayers. We need to make sure we read our scriptures daily and that the Gospel has a more prominent place in our hearts than does television. If we were to be really honest with ourselves and rate where our priorities are, where does reading the scriptures fall? What about family prayer? How about going to church? Following the commandments? Personal prayer? These are the things that should be first and foremost in our lives. Are they? Are you striving for what you want out of this life? Out of the eternities? Make sure you are living your life so that you can get what you want out of it. Until tomorrow.