What matters most to you?
What are your highest priorities?
Priorities come
from values and from perspective. Normally the higher we value something the
higher its priority. Perspective helps us see clearly to be able to wisely
adjust our priorities especially when we have a conflict of values or we are
confused as to what is really important or what should matter most. When
we are able to see clearly and correctly and can prioritize all of our
priorities, we are better equipped at seeing right from wrong, recognizing the
difference between good and evil, and are more likely to choose the ways of the
Lord over the ways of the world.
The ways of the
world are full of false, vain, and foolish notions. These can affect the way we view the
world. Sometimes our own priorities are
not based on reality. We follow the
dictates of our imagination and fantasize about perceived things rather than
real things. We begin to pursue foolish
pleasures at the expense of real joy. We get so swept up in the thrill of the
great and spacious building that we fail to realize that this building, no
matter how big, is, in fact, an illusion.
It has no foundation of truth, it is a facade, and it will never last.
In our daily
crossroads, when we are torn between being in the world or of the world, let us
choose the right between the two options.
Let us begin by telling ourselves to take the higher road. The higher road is a real road towards
righteousness, not an easy, superficial path.
Taking the higher
road includes trusting in the Lord with all of our hearts, not leaning too much
on our own understanding. If we do this, the promise is that God shall direct
our paths.
Why do we take the
broad roads and detour from the straight and narrow path? Why is it so easy to
take the road of least resistance?
Like fog on the
freeway, we can let the influences of the world cloud our thinking, direct our
decisions, and deceive us. We are blinded by the vanity and lies of the world.
We are blinded by the craftiness of men.
What does it mean
to be blinded by the subtle craftiness of men? One answer might be this: when
we don’t take the higher road and we fail to trust in the Lord with all our
hearts, we become more vulnerable to the cunning wiles of the adversary.
The devil is the ultimate liar and uses lies and the lies of others to
deceive us in subtle, sometimes hardly detectable, ways. Like the famous
Trojan Horse of Troy, we can easily be deceived when what appears to be of
value hides the truth.
Flattery, for
example is a Trojan Horse of Troy. It is easy to be swept up in flattering
words. We are seduced by the statements of others and the slogans of the
world. When we do this, we trust others
instead of trusting God.
The scriptures
warn us that even the very elected will be deceived. More often than not, when the very elect are
deceived they usually don’t even know it.
That is how deception works. You
think you are aware of what is going on but you don’t know what you don’t know.
Still, no matter how we
are deceived or how deceived we are, we are still personally responsible for
everything with think, say or do. We are fully responsible for everything we do
even if we aren’t always fully aware of what or why we do what we do. Let me
repeat that: we are fully responsible for everything we do even if we aren’t
always fully aware of what or why we do what we do. There are errors of
commission but there are also errors of omission.
Ignorance and blindness are not excusable.
Thankfully, the Lord can rescue us from the blind
state of deception. But we first need to
turn to him in prayer.
Prayer is like
opening blinds or curtains: you have to do your part to let the light shine in.
Opening the blinds
is like opening our heart. We must do our part to open our heart and then He
will impart.
Opening our heart
is a form of trusting. When we give all of our heart to God, holding nothing
back, nothing wavering, He then can move mountains in our behalf. Some of the
greatest words ever written are these. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart
and lean not to thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he
shall direct thy paths.”
More often than
not our “own understanding” is foolishness. Of all things that foolishness
represents, lack of wisdom, purpose and direction, sum up a great deal of our
foolishness behaviors.
Because we tend to
be foolish, we should constantly seek His wisdom. “If any of you lack wisdom,
let him ask of God,” who giveth liberally to all who ask in faith.
Understanding these
two concepts: wisdom and foolishness, are so important for eternal progression.
The scriptures are
full of references to wisdom and foolishness. But what really is foolishness?
Sometimes our
foolishness is based on ignorance and inexperience. We make mistakes because we do not have all
the information. Once we are informed,
educated, and corrected, the foolishness goes away because we now know the
difference.
But sometimes our
foolishness is based on false information we have adopted as truth. These fallacies are blinding because we think
we are learned and we think we know.
This makes it easy to think we know better and we think we are
right. But really we stubbornly hold on
to false concepts because we don’t know any better. “When they are learned they think they are
wise”
And sometimes
these false concepts are deep seated notions lurking beneath our consciousness.
Just as we have
stewardship over our own body, we also have stewardship over our subconscious
self. Our subconscious side also operates within its own subconscious
script. This subconscious script or sub script is also a belief script.
Every day of our life, we record thoughts, events, ideas and images, all
written on our sub script. We
inadvertently and subconsciously hold on to these ideas and images as truth.
However, the truth
is, more often than not, we let our subconscious side have too much say or sway
in our lives. When fear is subconscious, we react to things
fearfully. When doubt is subconscious,
we react to things doubtfully.
We also do things
automatically or semi automatically and when things go wrong we often look for
someone else to blame. Or we blame the circumstances.
We also claim some
behaviors are just human nature; that they are natural or normal behavior, when
what it might be is our subconscious side showing. We think we are acting
naturally, but we are really acting out our subconscious definition of reality.
Some people claim
we all have a dark side but this is not true, we may have subconscious side
that for some may appear dark because it is often mysterious, or unbridled, or
even worse, polluted or corrupted, but it is not an evil or dark side by
destiny. As innocent children, we came into this world clean and pure. As
children of God, we all have divinity within us and our task is to develop that
side of us as we try to understand and manage the subconscious side of our
souls.
However, because
we only have so much time in the day, we should avoid too much of our agency,
energy, and attention on subconscious things. We can get Martha-like anxiety
over our anxieties and overlook the better part of our personality, behavior,
and character. Of course, habits need to
be recognized and often changed. But, more often than not, breaking habits is a
time sensitive process, and futile attempts at change are often the result of
over exaggerated, over emphasized attention and obsession. Just as a person can
dwell too much on the past, a person can dwell too much on the subconscious.
The opposite is
also true. A person can pay too little attention to the subconscious side and
habits, idiosyncrasies, and especially obsessions, compulsions, and addictions,
can control and consume them.
The foolish man or
woman builds his or her house on the sands of subconscious impulses. The wise man or woman builds his or her house
on the rock of Divine revelation.
For purposes known
only to the Creator, He created man, and the many facets of who we are. He
knows that we can develop weaknesses in many areas, even subconscious areas.
But He can show us these weaknesses and, if we are humble, his grace is sufficient
to make weaknesses, even subconscious weaknesses into strengths.
But just as we
don’t expected God to do everything for us, there are some things we need to
change on our own.
And that is
sometimes the tricky part: recognizing what we need to change and figuring out
how to go about changing it.
No one wants to
admit to weaknesses even subconscious weaknesses and perhaps the subconscious
ones are the most sensitive and hardest to admit to. This is partially true
because by nature of the very name we have designated for them:
unconscious. Very often, we are
unconscious of these types if weaknesses and shortcomings in our subconscious.
Some weaknesses
take years even decades to recognize and admit to. Over time, our loving
Father in Heaven delicately and slowly shows us our weaknesses, here a little,
there a little, when we are ready, and when we are humble enough and meek
enough to handle it.
Scientists,
philosophers, religionists, new age authors and other writers have tried to
crack the subconscious code for centuries.
I don’t claim to have the answers but I do recognize that both
dimensions exist. I also recognize that
the line is often blurred between what is conscious and what is
subconscious. I tend to treat both
equally. Both are like book ends. And
like heart and mind, left and right brain, body and spirit, there is a duel
role duel relationship interaction between the two.
There
are periods in our lives when we remain in darkness and confusion. More often
than not, during these times, the subconscious script has more influences on
our actions, decisions and behaviors than the conscious belief script. Days, weeks, even months go by while we
operate on an ignorant and foolish autopilot, letting life happen and following
after are carnal desires and impulses.
Although
we may be in total darkness at noon day, the Lord has not left us without
help. The Lord has scriptures and
prophets to help us. Prophets and
scriptures help us avoid the dangers of the blind leading the blind.
Prophets
help shine light on the darkness and bring truth to resolve the confusion, but
too often the wicked take this call to repentance as “hard sayings”. The wicked take light and truth to be hard,
and reject and rebel against it.
When the wicked take the truth to be hard and their hearts
fail them, their love waxes cold; they are past feeling. When they are past
feeling, they harden their hearts and seek to fill their emptiness with more
extreme, selfish, carnal consumptions.
These consumptions only fuel the subconscious script and deeply ingrain
selfish behaviors.
This type of wickedness becomes a downward spiral: rebelling
against truth, failing hearts that wax hard and cold, seeking to fill the
emptiness with carnal, natural, and selfish sins, which creates more
wickedness.
Selfishness is also a downward spiral. Selfishness is an insatiable hunger that is
never satisfied.
In addition to selfishness, dishonesty also troubles
us. When we are deceived, we tend to
deceive others through both words and actions.
We often say one thing and do another, or we cover what we do wrong with
lies about how we want to be viewed. The secret side of us we want to keep a
secret and we will go to great lengths to find words and deeds to cover them
up.
Sometimes we think,
just because our life seems out of control, that someone else is controlling
our life. We have been given agency, but if we abuse that agency, we lose
control. We often blame others for our own failures. Like a control freak, and in a knee jerk
reaction, it appears we over correct and wield our agency like a bull in a China
shop. Many divorces are the result of a
person claiming they needed freedom to control their life, when their spouse
wasn’t the real reason for their lack of self-control.
If the control freak
goes too far, they include God in their Declaration of Independence. Rebellion is as much about self-determination
as it is about resisting authority. The irony
is that God wants us to be self –reliant and personally responsible for our
lives, but those who fight against God take it one step further because they
don’t want anyone else telling them what to do.
Often, however, the
pathetic result of a revolt against God
is the enslavement that occurs as the result of sins, addictions,
obsessions, compulsions, and other habitual behaviors. Freedom without
discipline and restraint becomes a two edge sword and, out of nowhere, the
devil has the ultimate control of a person’s agency.
All this gives new meaning to the phase “Choose the
right or lose the right.”
Remember, agency is a double edged
sword. Personal freedom is liberating and empowering but the consequences are
just as great. The higher the freedom, the higher the consequences. Choices
have consequences. Cause has resulting effects. What you sow so shall ye reap.
There is often a
"consequence window" between cause and effect. The time between the
iceberg and the sinking ship. The time between the earthquake and the resulting
tsunami. Personal freedom is appealing, but without some restraint, personal
freedom can be dangerous.
It all starts with opening the blinds.
Seeing the
problem is the first step to overcoming the problem. Seeing the problem requires humility.
The need for
humility can best be seen in the following analogy. Picture a fish who has followed a lure and
bitten the bate. The fish is now hooked
to the line and although he may thrash about and resist, eventually the fish
will be reeled in. Or consider a deer or
other forest animal who has been snagged by a snare or captured in a well
concealed trap. The more the deer fights
to get free, from the trap, the more damage the trap can cause.
Ultimately
the only way to get free from the trap is to be still and call for the Lord’s
help. If we are humble, patient, and
seek the Lord with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, the Lord will rescue
us in His own way and in His own time frame.
We can make things worse by wrecking havoc on our lives and the lives
around us or we can humbly submit to His rescuing process.
Again rescue
first requires recognition. Life is a
series of realizations and the sooner we “come to ourselves” and realize the
predicament we are in, the sooner the Lord can work miracles in our lives.
Opening the
blinds opens the way for help from Heaven.
We often
close the blinds because the truth is often so bright that it hurts. Instead of facing off with the burdens that
are before us, we dodge, deny, procrastinate, blame, avoid, cover up,
rationalize, excuse, justify, retaliate, or simply just put our head in the
sand.
Over time
our little sand pile becomes a raging sandstorm and there is so much sand
everywhere, we cannot see our hand or His hand in front of us.
The sand is
so blinding we are “in darkness at noon day”.
When the dust settles we are lost in a desert that stretches aimlessly
for miles or we are sinking in quick sand.
It easy
to see why we cover up the things that canker the soul. These burdens are a kind of toxic turmoil and
dealing with the turmoil is overpowering and overwhelming. But it is only overpowering and overwhelming if
we try to conquer it alone.
You see, there
is inside, each of us, a kind of internal radioactive waste. This radioactive
waste within us is the result of carnal and natural behaviors, choices, and
actions. It affects everyone:
Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men
and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be . . . changed from their
carnal and fallen state, to a
state of righteousness.
It is the real
result of toxic consequences. This radioactive waste is burning hot. It is like a lava flow beneath the
surface of our soul. It is hard for us
to get too close to many of the core issues in our lives because of the intense
heat from this raging fire. We attempt to douse the fire with coping methods
and mechanisms. Too often however, the
methods become vices, addictions, obsessions and compulsions and they intensify
the fire rather than extinguish it.
In addition to
our attempts to douse the fire with coping mechanisms, we also pour accelerant
on the fire as the result of sins and temptations. Three areas that create the most burning fire
are: Passions, Possessions and Power. Where the Savior was tempted, we also
are tempted and the consequences of these sins creates a firestorm.
Because of the
intense heat that comes from the radioactive waste, we easily get burned. These burns are mental, emotional, and
spiritual. They are the scares of the circumstances and choices in our lives.
It is an “everlasting burning”, a
“gall of bitterness” the “darkest abyss”see
Mosiah 27: 28-30
Self mastery is the result of self control over as much of
our conscious and subconscious mind and heart as possible. Self control is
disciplined agency: it is to act instead of being acted upon. Self discipline
is the key to personal freedom. The more we have control over the more we have
freedom from. Growth is the result of harvesting our efforts in areas we have
control over. We truly grow when we focus our energy on things we have control
over and not waste out time and energy on things we have no control over.
Wisdom is knowing the difference.
But will power is not enough for self mastery over the
subconscious side. Concentration alone
cannot break years, decades, or a life time of conditioned behavior. Character
flaws are not cosmetic or superficial, and change will require more than
promises, lip service, and grand goals and ideals. For many of us parting the
Red Sea will be a lifelong process. The
important thing is to recognize and start the process of change. This requires two very important virtues:
honesty and humility. We have to
honestly admit we need to change and humble enough to seek the Lord for help.
The atonement of
Jesus Christ is extended to include more than the consequences and effects of
sin. The atonement of Jesus Christ also
envelops all the conditions and circumstances of fallen man and the effects of
a carnal and natural world. All of the
effects! It is the greatest ordinance
ever initiated: one that only a Savior could take upon himself. This great and last sacrifice opened the
windows of Heaven and broke the bands of death and hell with an inexhaustible
supply of amazing grace and transforming power.
It is this
transforming power that can reach every corner and rescue and redeem everyone
shackled by the bonds of iniquity and the chains and vices of Hell. For He “
remembereth every creature of his creating, he will make himself manifest unto
all.” Mosiah 27:30
Start today by opening the blinds and placing
all of your trust in Him.
