We read a story in Mark 10:17-22 that reads, "And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest though me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions."I found it interesting that the commandment about having other gods before him didn't come up. A god can be anything that you put before God. If God told you to go to Church and you decided you were too tired, then your sleep, that day, is before God. (I'm not condemning anyone who has slept through anything before- just trying to show that another god before him doesn't have to be something physical that we bow down to). A god before Him is anything that places God as less important than whatever else we have decided is more important, in any circumstance. Classic obedience story of testing whether or not God came first was with Abraham and Isaac. What I find interesting is that in Genesis 17:19, after Ishmael is born, Abraham is told that Sarah will bear a son Isaac and the covenant will be fulfilled through Isaac and his seed after him. Then after Isaac is born, but before he has a chance to have any seed, (in Genesis 22) Abraham is asked to sacrifice his son. He is asked to do something that would make it seem impossible for God to follow through on His promise that with Isaac the covenant will be renewed and with his seed after him. Not only that but Abraham has to decide whether his love for God truly does come first, or if the love of his family, and his son comes first. In my opinion there would be no greater test- because families ARE important. As we know, God told Abraham at the last minute that he didn't have to sacrifice his son. I don't think God ever meant for Abraham to sacrifice his son, but we all have to be willing to put the Lord first, no matter what, even if it doesn't seem to make sense to us: for "with men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible" (Mark 10:27) When we put the Lord first in all things, He will help make everything else fall into place. We have to trust Him. And in order to trust Him that fully we have to at least believe that He has our best intentions at heart and wants our happiness.
In the first scripture, the man loved his worldly belongings and wealth more than God. He chose to spend his life with temporary riches instead of following the counsel of the Savior. It is possible that had he shown that he was humble and willing to give all up that the Savior would've counseled him to merely help those around him with his riches- to use his life for good. It is not bad to have wealth, or even to seek after it. What is wrong, is if we put it above God, or if we let it distract us from doing what the Savior would wish us to do. If we grow to love it, if we choose not to thank the Lord for the help He has given us in achieving that goal.
Another point made concerning this story was that of sins of commission and sins of omission. It is not merely enough to keep the 10 commandments. We also need to go about doing good. As D&C 58: 26-27 reads,
"For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward. Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness"The last point made concerning the original passage was that of attitude. This man wanted the reward but wasn't willing to do everything it took. When told he had missed the mark and still had one thing left to do, he gave up (at least as far as this passage is concerned). And I think it ties in with the sins of commission and sins of omission. Had he broken one of the ten commandments (which it could be argued that he did, by not putting God above his love of his worldly possessions) that would have been a sin of commission. But without more, without deciding with our free will to go about doing good we will commit sins of omission. Of failing to do something.
There is a scripture in 2 Chronicles 25:2, "And he [Amaziah] did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart." This tells us that it is more than doing what is right, but our attitude behind it. To go along with this is the story of Laman and Lemuel which a great friend of mine helped me understand more. Those familiar with the Book of Mormon know that everyone considers Laman and Lemuel to be wicked. But why? Their father asked them to leave Jerusalem. They did. They were asked to return for the plates. They did. They were asked to go back to get wives. They did. They were asked to build a boat. They did. They were asked to get on the boat and head to a strange promised land. They did. So WHY are they wicked? Because they did everything grudgingly, reluctantly and murmuring the whole way. It was their attitude that made the difference in the end.
So what can we learn? It is not enough to keep the 10 commandments alone. We need to strive to do everything the Lord asks of us. We need to put the Lord first. We need to sometimes check our attitude and make sure we are doing things for the right reasons, that our heart is behind our actions. I'm not saying there won't be days when we fail or it's harder, but that is our goal- to always strive to be better, to put the Lord first, and to do things with a willing heart. Love the Lord thy God with all thine heart.
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