Never, Ever, & Always
I was in the car the other day and I was listening to the amazing, Sheri Dew. Sheri Dew, for those of you who don't know, is the President of Deseret Book, an LDS Bookstore. She was also in the General Relief Society Presidency of the church. That being said, Sheri has given her fair share of talks, and has written many books. I was listening to her audiobook in the car on the way home from work and she was talking about the Law of Chastity. Which is, that a man and a woman should not have sexual relations outside of marriage, and other things such as living a total morally clean lifestyle when it comes to intimacy. It's an awesome thing, and it keeps us safe from the hazards that can make life much harder than it has to be. As I was listening, it seemed to me a very big and scary topic. Breaking your moral code, was kin to murdering your entire family, or worse. I felt very sad, and although I understood that she was just trying to stress the importance of staying pure, I felt horrible.
I think that this situation happens a lot with many different things. Maybe you aren't a member of my church, and that's ok, maybe instead you feel inclined to keep a morally clean lifestyle because your parents raised you that way, or because of another reason. Whatever it may be, let me tell you something, never ever say what you "won't be" and always say what you "will be". I say this because when it really comes down to it, there are a lot of things we don't ever want to do. Breaking commandments, or being a bad person, is usually in the top 5. However, we are human, which means we are frail, and unpredictable. Mistakes will be made. One day, something you said you would never do, you will do. Now, this doesn't have to be strictly with chastity, it could be with anything. I just believe that saying we will never, is bringing us down.
Perspective. When you do something wrong, you feel horrible. You feel like you failed and that you have lied to yourself and for me, to God. This guilt and shame is Godly Sorrow. You have the desire to change and become better, and have God forgive and forget your sins. Well, it can happen, but it takes time. Sometimes I think that we stress too much on what happens if we do something wrong, and not enough on what happens when we fix our mistakes. Yes, it is bad to be bad. But it is even worse to be bad, and useless. When we sit down and tell ourselves NO, NEVER, NOT AN OPTION, we open up the door to depression. We open it wide for all the thoughts of; you're not good enough, he will never forgive you, you are going to hell. Instead, we should close the door to no and open the windows to YES. Let the light shine in and say YES to being better, say OF COURSE to understanding that God loves you no matter what you do, and scream HALLELUJAH at the prospect of change.
We are not meant to be sad, unloved, or distant. Those aren't things that God is, and we were created in his image! Life is hard enough as it is, cut yourself some slack and remember that we are children of GOD, we are sons and daughters of the creator of happiness and harmony. Live life saying YES to the things that matter, and saying no only when the Lord prompts you.
I think that this situation happens a lot with many different things. Maybe you aren't a member of my church, and that's ok, maybe instead you feel inclined to keep a morally clean lifestyle because your parents raised you that way, or because of another reason. Whatever it may be, let me tell you something, never ever say what you "won't be" and always say what you "will be". I say this because when it really comes down to it, there are a lot of things we don't ever want to do. Breaking commandments, or being a bad person, is usually in the top 5. However, we are human, which means we are frail, and unpredictable. Mistakes will be made. One day, something you said you would never do, you will do. Now, this doesn't have to be strictly with chastity, it could be with anything. I just believe that saying we will never, is bringing us down.
Perspective. When you do something wrong, you feel horrible. You feel like you failed and that you have lied to yourself and for me, to God. This guilt and shame is Godly Sorrow. You have the desire to change and become better, and have God forgive and forget your sins. Well, it can happen, but it takes time. Sometimes I think that we stress too much on what happens if we do something wrong, and not enough on what happens when we fix our mistakes. Yes, it is bad to be bad. But it is even worse to be bad, and useless. When we sit down and tell ourselves NO, NEVER, NOT AN OPTION, we open up the door to depression. We open it wide for all the thoughts of; you're not good enough, he will never forgive you, you are going to hell. Instead, we should close the door to no and open the windows to YES. Let the light shine in and say YES to being better, say OF COURSE to understanding that God loves you no matter what you do, and scream HALLELUJAH at the prospect of change.
We are not meant to be sad, unloved, or distant. Those aren't things that God is, and we were created in his image! Life is hard enough as it is, cut yourself some slack and remember that we are children of GOD, we are sons and daughters of the creator of happiness and harmony. Live life saying YES to the things that matter, and saying no only when the Lord prompts you.
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