I thought I'd give a little 'sermon' in honor of Thanksgiving--just my thoughts on gratitude and its role in our lives.
As we think about civilizations in history that have prospered and been blessed because of righteousness, there are two ways they can go. The first is the pride cycle. Righteousness leads to blessings, and because of their abundance, they become 'respecters of class' and prideful, which leads to wickedness. The wickedness grows until they put off those things which made them righteous in the first place--namely God and keeping his commandments, and begin to trust in their own strength until they are finally destoyed from inside and/or out. Stripped of all their pride, they then become humble and repent, bringing them back to their previous state of righteousness. Do they then repeat the cycle of pride? What is the key to a lasting change?
It is the second way a people can go and that is the cycle of humility, and the keystone to this cycle is gratitude. Righteousness leads to blessings, and then-- instead of becoming prideful of those things they have-- sincere gratitude is expressed. They realize the source of their blessings is God. With their abundance and with their service, they give to those who have less. They realize they are nothing unto themselves but that "with God all things are possible". This leads not to destruction, but to further humility and continued repentance, and they are able to continue on in righteousness and receive further and richer blessings.
So whether in the life of whole nations, or in your own life, remember that gratitude is the great preserver.
"And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks uno God for whatsoever things ye do receive" (Alma 7:23).
Hope you all have a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving!
As we think about civilizations in history that have prospered and been blessed because of righteousness, there are two ways they can go. The first is the pride cycle. Righteousness leads to blessings, and because of their abundance, they become 'respecters of class' and prideful, which leads to wickedness. The wickedness grows until they put off those things which made them righteous in the first place--namely God and keeping his commandments, and begin to trust in their own strength until they are finally destoyed from inside and/or out. Stripped of all their pride, they then become humble and repent, bringing them back to their previous state of righteousness. Do they then repeat the cycle of pride? What is the key to a lasting change?
It is the second way a people can go and that is the cycle of humility, and the keystone to this cycle is gratitude. Righteousness leads to blessings, and then-- instead of becoming prideful of those things they have-- sincere gratitude is expressed. They realize the source of their blessings is God. With their abundance and with their service, they give to those who have less. They realize they are nothing unto themselves but that "with God all things are possible". This leads not to destruction, but to further humility and continued repentance, and they are able to continue on in righteousness and receive further and richer blessings.
So whether in the life of whole nations, or in your own life, remember that gratitude is the great preserver.
"And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks uno God for whatsoever things ye do receive" (Alma 7:23).
Hope you all have a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving!
1 comment:
Sheesh, I am so behind! This was very lovely and thought provoking. You should hang on to it incase you need to speak in church. :)
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