I was thinking about this recently as I prepared a sacrament meeting talk about tithing. I realized and I can only speak for myself, but I am not one of those people who has had great miracles come forth as a result of paying tithing. I have never seen a cause and effect relationship between paying my tithing and any letter in the mail with unexpected money or anything like that.
I'm not sure that I see that kind of cause and effect as a result of my living any specific commandment.
I have actually come to believe that we should not keep a commandment and then look to see what the Lord is going to do for us to reward us. Rather, I believe that each commandment IS the blessing. Paying tithing is a blessing. As the old saying goes and I believe it – “Goodness is its own reward.”
I also believe that consequences of actions are not immediate and that is by design. The Lord gave us moral agency when He created this earth. We are free to choose our own actions and we also choose the consequences of those actions. Ultimately, these choices will define us and we will become what we have chosen.
But if agency is truly to be ours, we cannot have immediate consequences. If every time we did something good, the Lord rewarded us, we would end up doing good for the wrong reasons. Likewise, if every time we made a mistake, there was instant punishment, we would stop those behaviors - also for the wrong reason.
We need to learn for ourselves - not just be trained to act in certain ways. So blessings cannot be God's reward for choosing to live the commandments as if He were rewarding our choice.
So am I saying that I have no blessings? That God has never blessed me? Absolutely NOT!!
My life is SO blessed. Life itself is a blessing. The earth is an amazing place! The people in my life are blessings. The Gospel blesses me every day. My husband is an angel with whom it is a pleasure to share my life.
Blessings abound! I am filled with gratitude for the life I have been given.
I have actually come to believe that we should not keep a commandment and then look to see what the Lord is going to do for us to reward us. Rather, I believe that each commandment IS the blessing. Paying tithing is a blessing. As the old saying goes and I believe it – “Goodness is its own reward.”
I also believe that consequences of actions are not immediate and that is by design. The Lord gave us moral agency when He created this earth. We are free to choose our own actions and we also choose the consequences of those actions. Ultimately, these choices will define us and we will become what we have chosen.
But if agency is truly to be ours, we cannot have immediate consequences. If every time we did something good, the Lord rewarded us, we would end up doing good for the wrong reasons. Likewise, if every time we made a mistake, there was instant punishment, we would stop those behaviors - also for the wrong reason.
We need to learn for ourselves - not just be trained to act in certain ways. So blessings cannot be God's reward for choosing to live the commandments as if He were rewarding our choice.
So am I saying that I have no blessings? That God has never blessed me? Absolutely NOT!!
My life is SO blessed. Life itself is a blessing. The earth is an amazing place! The people in my life are blessings. The Gospel blesses me every day. My husband is an angel with whom it is a pleasure to share my life.
Blessings abound! I am filled with gratitude for the life I have been given.
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