13 And because of this their great wickedness, and their boastings in their own strength, they were left in their own strength; therefore they did not prosper, but were afflicted and smitten, and driven before the Lamanites, until they had lost possession of almost all their lands.
14 But behold, Moronihah did preach many things unto the people because of their iniquity, and also Nephi and Lehi, who were the sons of Helaman, did preach many things unto the people, yea, and did prophesy many things unto them concerning their iniquities, and what should come unto them if they did not repent of their sins.
15 And it came to pass that they did repent, and inasmuch as they did repent they did begin to prosper.
In fact after reading these scriptures I realize that the Lord treats us much better than what might be considered fair treatment. From verse 13 we can see that these people turned their back on their Father in Heaven and boasted or became cauky about what their own strength and knowledge. Because of this, the Lord was unable to help them. He lets us have our agency (will and freedom to choose right from wrong) and He is never going to force His own will on us. So they turned their backs on Him and because of this they had to go through unnecessary suffering and they lost the ability to prosper and "possession of almost all their lands."
But then as we look at versus 14 and 15, they decided to repent and return to their God. And how does He handle it after they turned away?? More blessings. The Lord helped them prosper once again. Is God fair? I would say not, He treats us better than fair.
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints we are asked to pay tithing by giving 10% of all the money we make. Some people may complain and think that is too much to ask, but I feel that my Heavenly Father treats me better than fair as I sacrifice this money to the church just as He was better than fair to the Nephites.
One example I can think of is when I received my very first job at the age of 16. I kept a little jar in my bedroom and each time I cashed a check I would stick 10% of my paycheck into the jar and I would often forget to bring it with me to church on Sunday. Sometimes I would see that money sitting in the jar and I would borrow from it leaving little notes saying "I owe you 5 dollars" with good intention of course to pay it back. But even though I had every intention to pay my tithing, the Lord couldn't give me the blessings that come from paying tithing until I actually paid it, so I was on my own financially.
Well as time went by my boss kept cutting my work hours and sometimes wouldn't even put me on the work schedule. I was so confused why this was happening and soon figured out my boss did not like me very much. I was a very hard worker and kept myself on task but I had learned that I had offended her many times as I spoke about my religion on the job. This was the hardest trial in my life at this point (kind of funny looking back now and seeing what I have been through now) because of the way they treated me while I was at work and wondering if they were even going to give me work.
Finally one day, after receiving a paycheck, I took the whole paycheck and paid my tithing jar back. Then when Sunday came, I turned in my tithing. Peace came back into my life concerning the job and something amazing happened about a week after I turned in my tithing while I was at a store with my Dad. My Dad, just out of blue felt inspired to ask the manager if there was a job opening for me. She said they were looking for someone and she handed me an application. I brought back the application the next day and was hired on the spot. I was able to quit my other job and I had a new job where I was loved and respected. I never held onto my tithing again. I learned, the Lord pays much better than a silly job does. The Lord could have turned His back on me just like I did in a way to Him, but really He was just waiting for me to come unto Him so that He could hand me a blessing He was waiting to give me. I love Him, He is so good to me. He treats me better than fair.
Love,
Becky joy
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