Let's talk about sacrifice and priorities! I'll include a few verses on other topics, too, because I loved them.
Matthew 18:9
9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
I have several offending eyes in my life. The truth is that we all have things that are part of us (habits, attitudes, even core beliefs) that aren't consistent with the Savior's teachings. They don't even have to be sinful things. For example, hope in the future doesn't come naturally to me. I learned a lot of fear in my childhood that I'm still working through. Jesus Christ wants us to live and make choices based on faith and hope, not fear and discouragement. I've been working to pluck excessive fear out of my life. Worrying about what people think of me, talking about others, and making snap judgements are other things I'm plucking. It takes time. It's better for us to lose these parts of ourselves so we can feel the Spirit and truly be one with God. It's a sacrifice (sometimes it feels as dramatic as losing an eye) but everything we give the Lord is repaid in the end.
Luke 10:35
35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
He will come again and He will honor all of our sacrifices. He will make us whole in every way. We can count on Him.
Don't be afraid to give up ...
- Unholy things.
- Things that no longer serve you and God.
- Bad attitudes.
- Unfair beliefs about yourself.
- Worldly priorities.
- Anything that offends the Spirit.
The Law of Sacrifice has changed since the days of animals on altars. The Church of Jesus Christ's website now describes it as: "doing all we can to support the Lord’s work and repenting with a broken heart and contrite spirit." It's even more intimate now. Instead of symbolically sacrificing something, we literally need to let go of these offending things. We need to pluck them out of our lives and change ourselves. We do this because of the most intimate sacrifice of all: the sacrifice and Atonement of the Lamb of God.
Matthew 18:10
10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
I love the idea that my children have angels watching over them. I know it's true for all children. These innocent souls have imperfect parents and need extra help and protection. The veil is thinner for them and they have heaven with them. I feel it every time my baby smiles at me. Every time my toddler gives me a big hug. They are so patient with me and all my weaknesses - more Christlike than I am by leaps and bounds.
Matthew 18:15
15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
I've been consciously working on this all week. It's so natural to be offended by something and immediately vent to a friend or family member. I've been trying to handle these conflicts directly so that gossip doesn't spread and no one is hurt. We become closer as we lovingly resolve conflicts without dragging anyone's name through the mud. The truth is that Jesus forgives debts that we could never pay ourselves. We're hypocrites when we don't allow others the same mercy. We don't have to allow bad things to happen again, of course, but we can be Christlike as we set boundaries.
Luke 10:18-19
18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Satan can seem intimidating and powerful, but we have to remember that Jesus Christ already won. A long time ago. We can be hurt temporarily by Satan's power on earth, but in the end, he really can't touch us without our permission. He can't touch our faith or our agency. When we have discouraging thoughts, we need to remember that they come from him and that we all saw him fall.
Luke 10:20
20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
When I read this, I was reminded of my time on my high school track team. I love track because the focus is on setting personal records. If you're me, you never win a race but can still celebrate a PR. Jesus is telling us here that we shouldn't rejoice in a bad fate for someone else. We should focus on our own salvation. Pride goes before the fall. It's less about who "wins" or gets there first and more about getting all of us across that finish line. Forget about the sins of your neighbor. Focus on doing better yourself than you did yesterday.
Luke 10:29
29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
Do we try to justify ourselves?
I'm not assigned to minister to her, so I don't have to help her.
He has been rude to me in the past, so I don't feel bad that he's suffering now.
They don't come to church.
She has made bad choices.
Stop it. The Lord wants us to love everyone wherever they are. Those thoughts of justification come from the adversary. If we have promptings to reach out to people, we need to follow them. It doesn't matter if it's our formal assignment to do so. It doesn't matter if they're on different life paths than we are. Everyone is our neighbor.
Luke 10:41-42
41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
It’s me! I am Martha. I worry too much about how clean the house is, my to-do list, my goals as a wife, mother, and homemaker. I stress about having food on the table in a timely manner and feel ridiculous guilt when I’m behind on my tasks. All my worrying leads to bitterness and resentment when I feel torn between enjoying time with my family and “getting stuff done.” Things become chaotic so quickly, and yet, I know my children are growing rapidly and I need to be present with them. I look into their sweet, beautiful eyes and realize that they are the good part. They won’t be taken from me because our family is eternal. My house is not my eternal home. The food we eat isn’t significant to our salvation. But being there for my children and teaching them the gospel is good. Even more, it’s best.
Mary understood that her chance to be with the Savior was now. He was there with them in that moment and she was at His feet. I’m sure Martha was doing great things. We all fulfill different roles in the kingdom and taking care of temporal needs was important. But perhaps Martha could have left her “many” troubles behind and spent more time with the Savior. I can relate to her dilemma so much that it hurts. What could Martha have given up in order to be with Him? What worries, what tasks, what unnecessary burdens? What could have waited until the next day, the next month, or the next year? What could she have put down in order to be present with the literal Son of God? I’m asking myself those same questions. What can I let go of?
I realized today that my problem is I’m an exhausted control freak. I want to do things myself so they’re done “right,” but I’m also tired and need help. I get irritated when that help isn’t given but I know, deep down, it’s because I’m so particular and I’ll just be critical of said help. My poor husband. This is a very imperfect part of me that I need to improve. I don’t want to discount all of Martha’s goodness, but I’ll use her as an example anyway. Should I be like Martha and be too careful and troubled? That’s what my OCD perfectionism is, right?
I need to choose the good and needful things instead, which means prioritizing my family and my marriage even when things don’t look the way I want. It means being grateful for help and involving my children despite extra time and mess. It means choosing to study the gospel over scrubbing something that’s driving me crazy. This is just a personal example, of course. You probably have different things you’re careful and troubled about. We all have things we can put aside for a while in order to prioritize what’s best. But this is an offending eye that I desperately need to pluck out of my life. I need more time at my Savior's feet.
I want to end with this quote that popped up on my phone this week. I needed it badly.
"Jesus Christ ... doesn’t see our lack as failure but rather as an opportunity to exercise faith and to grow." - Wholehearted by Sister Michelle D. Craig.
We all have things to learn and sacrifices to make. It's a long road to perfection or wholeness. We shouldn't be discouraged with our progress or compare ourselves to others. Instead, we need to focus on our own "personal records" and improvements and celebrate each step that brings us closer to God. Our weaknesses are opportunities to turn to Him, to trust Him more, and to see the power of His Atonement in our lives. He can do far more with our lives than we can on our own. Let's all spend more time at His feet, whatever that personally means to us.
Bonnie Gwyn
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