If you've been keeping up to date on my blog (which would be hard to do since I haven't blogged for an extended period of time) you will know that the last several posts have been almost exclusively of a religious/doctrinal nature. This was because I was required to blog for my online religion course from BYU-I.
In spite of the overwhelming amount of material on a spiritual subjects in recent posts, I find it more and more difficult to assuage myself of the inclination to write thus. In a world which has increasingly demonstrated that it has no intention of returning to the spiritual and wholesome on its own, it will only be through our increased commitment to and reliance on our God, the scriptures, and personal revelation that we can hope to remain standing on that foundation whereon if men build, they cannot fall.
It is clear to those who seek after righteousness that virtue, charity and sacrifice, humility, and personal responsibility are becoming increasingly rare commodities in the society in which we live. So much of our lives is centered around what you have, and what you don't. Too far we have fallen into the rat race of things; honoring possessions, positions, and wealth above sacrifice, honesty and integrity. Most of us are so caught up in the war of 'getting ahead in life' that little time and energy is left, if any at all, to take an interest in the welfare of the lives of our fellow men, or even the condition of our own souls. We have been hoodwinked; tricked into the distractions meant to blind us to the things of real worth in this world.
We are under the constant barrage of people and programs seeking to make us sacrifice our principles and morals, change our wills and actions, to align them with their desires and agendas. Entitlement they cry. You deserve! So pervasive are these trends of evil that even the best of men are intoxicated with them, and fail to do their duty to God and their fellow men. Selfishness and her sisters pride and apathy; these are those cheap prostitutes of the honor of men, stealing from him his sense of duty and brotherly love. Gone are the days when the society of men is capable of asking "what can I do for my country, for my fellow man, for my God?"
So bold an assertion and accusation as this is sure to raise the eyebrow of most of my friends and peers. From those who least understand what I have said will come the most lively attempts to defend the society I have, in their view, so rashly slandered. They will try to correct me, hoping to change what I think. "We are not all as bad as that," they will argue. "Most people in the world try to do good things and be good people." For these I will try to expound on my judgement.
First on the distraction of the rat race. Some of us are completely consumed with the need to have possessions, or positions or wealth. For these people, there can be little doubt that they are distracted from the things that are truly important. Even Hollywood agrees on this point from time to time. But what of those of us who are not totally consumed in the rat race? Are we really so affected as I have suggested? Consider how much time you spend watching television, listening to the radio and the various internet radio sites, watching videos in the theater and online, driving by billboards. Think of how many minutes a day, a week, a year you spend viewing or listening to content whose express purpose and design is no more or less then to lure you into feeling like you need another this or that, the latest and greatest. In the deepest corners of your heart, are you the slightest bit jealous when your friend or associate has the newest latest and greatest, and you don't? Are you envious of your co-worker who gets the raise or the better position; longing for that next entitlement you deserve? If you are, you, like me, are still running around in the rat race.
Ask yourself what things in life are truly important; family, education, service, religion etc. If you were to track how you spend your time, would your tracking sheet say? Would you be spending most or all of your time on those things which are most important? Or would you find that you have been distracted? And lets be honest, half and half doesn't cut it. Even sixty percent is not good. Lukewarm lives are unfulfilling at best. You would not want a doctor to perform surgery on you if he spaced out during fifty percent of the surgery. You wouldn't want him if he only focused sixty or even seventy percent of the surgery. You want a doctor who was intent and focused, doing all of the important things, being the best doctor that he can be during the whole surgery. Your life is in your own hands. You wouldn't let your doctor be distracted. Don't let yourself be distracted. Remember that distractions do not have to be evil to be effective.
Now, even when we aren't too caught up in the race for prominence, money, and the like, we still struggle with the greater problem; that of yielding our will and desire for righteousness.
True enough it is that the questions of "what can I do" are almost posed by those who wish to do and be good Christians. But they ask without an understanding of duty or responsibility. They ask "what can we do for our country?" "What can we do for the good of our fellow man?" They see the duty of man to bless and strengthen each other as the duty of men, as though man were but a collective mind, with but a collective responsibility for these things. This is not, and cannot, be. We as a society have lost the ability to prioritize, take responsibility, and do the hard things that the important things require.
Further compounding this problem is the realization that the promoters of the evil have very effectively created a feeling through out our entire society of helplessness. And we are buying into it. To many of those who recognize the awful state in which our society finds itself have been lulled into apathy, choosing to allay their sense of duty with the selfish sleaze that oozes into our lives in nearly every form of media to which we expose ourselves. Elder Patrick Kearon, member of the Quorum of the Seventy in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said "When we choose to consume the attitudes and opinions of the mass media, we find our own values and viewpoints following suit. We tell ourselves we’re not being affected by these messages, but that is not possible."
In illustration of this point, I relate an experience I had very recently. I tell the story not in judgement of an individual, but rather as an example of the symptom of the condition in which we now find ourselves. Some weeks ago I attended church services in the Salt Lake area for a few weeks between semesters a the university. Sitting in the Sunday School classroom before class, I was chatting with one of the long time members of the congregation, one whom I felt was among the many outstanding and faithful people whom I have had the privilege of knowing and associating with. In the course of our discussion, she inquired about my schooling, and what I plan to do after college. We talked briefly about my plans and also about the ever increasing changes making it harder and harder to do what I wish to do, and which are drawing us closer and closer to socialism and eventually communism. After expressing our mutual disagreement about these circumstances she suddenly ended the conversation by saying, with a shrug of the shoulder, "Well, what can you do?" I was taken aback by this sudden change in the timbre of our conversation. Time and circumstance did not permit further discussion on the subject. I came away from that conversation utterly alarmed!
Admittedly, I can't say that I have a solution to those problems, or am even an expert on them. But friends, let us never forget that all evil needs to claim the victory is for good people to do nothing. The pattern of thought expressed above leads to exactly that: nothing. But I mistake. The reality is that this pattern of thought and behavior is tantamount to pushing forward the very agendas and evils we loathe. Our silence is as good as our consent.
When will it be time? When will we have had enough? How long will we be satisfied with the tantalizing toys and pleasures that call from every side while the principles on which a righteous and happy people must be built are being eroded right out from under us? Shall we stand in silence and in the shadows of society saying and doing nothing till the wickedness and apathy of men pull down the wrath of God upon this once great nation? No. Let us rise and heed the council of that great prophet Isaiah. "Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion. For thus saith the Lord, Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money." (Isaiah 52:1-3)
Now is the time. This is the day. Take courage. "Touch not the evil gift, nor the unclean thing." Remember the word of the Lord which he spoke to those who were his servants and were about his work: [L]o, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Stand and serve that God who created heaven and earth. Open your mouth in the defense of His righteousness and "The Lord of hosts shall defend [thee]" (Zachariah 15:9). So be up and doing. Speak up. Do good, and fear not to oppose evil; God is your defense.
Don't forget your daily dose of Music!
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