The Parable of the Talents

When Jesus taught the parable of the talents, he made an interesting point. Three servants are given sums of money by their Lord, who goes on a long journey. Two of them are faithful and work hard with the money that is given to them. One of these faithful servants had been given five talents; the other had been given two. When the Lord returned, he found that the servant who had been given five talents had, through trade, made five more, for a total return on investment of 100%. He responded:

21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into thejoy of thy lord.

Next, the Lord finds that the servant who had been given two talents had, through trade, made two more, for a total return on investment of 100%. He responded:

23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithfulservant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

Both servants were awarded exactly the same thing.  In other words, these servants' rewards didn't depend on what they had been given, nor even on how much they had, but on how much they made in relation to what they had been given, their return on investment. 

Similarly, while it may seem unfair that some are dealt a poorer hand in this world, in the end that won't matter.  It won't matter in the eternities if you were rich or poor, but whether you were productive or not.  It won't matter if you were popular or ignored, but whether you were kind or ignoring. 

So let's create, let's build, let's inspire, and let's make the most out of what we've been given.  In the end, when this world and everything in it passes away, all we'll have is our ability to create.

God Loves Inmates

I’m a correctional officer.  I work with male offenders in a medium-security correctional institution and have met some very shady characters.  I’ve dealt with drug cartel leaders, murderers, terrorists (though only minor ones), drug dealers, child molesters, and white supremacists, among others.  I’ve stopped reading their files because seeing the particular crimes for which they are incarcerated can make the bile rise up and the rational mind float away.  And in the nearly three years I’ve done this work, I have come up with one troubling conclusion: God loves them just as much as He loves me.

            On the one hand, I see them up to their worst: gambling, running with gangs, assaulting one another, lying through their teeth, and generally taking everything they can con from a staff member.  On the other, I’ve seen them be honest, patient, gracious, loyal, and even grateful. 

            Inmates, regardless of what they have done, are still fundamentally human and have access to the grace that Jesus Christ offers.  They have done vile things that both separate them from God and that spread blood and horror on the Earth.  In the end, though, are we non-inmates fundamentally different?  We don’t molest children, but non-inmates can also be jealous, adulterous, and selfish.  We, too, find ourselves light-years from the perfections and glories of God.  The fact that we’re inches or even yards closer than some other person won’t matter much if we don’t get closer to Him. 

            Each of us needs God’s love, and each of us has been given the freedom to decide what we want: freedom and life eternal, or captivity and eternal death.  Each of us can embrace the work of God (“For this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the exaltation and eternal life of man”) or we can wander in strange places and do the works of the devil, and reap the rewards thereof.  In other words, we can love all men, including inmates, or we can damn ourselves with our own hate. 

            True love, the love of God, strengthens and ennobles men.  True love may not be gentle if gentleness would tempt to predation, as it would in prison.  True love may even be “tough love” if that is what wisdom calls for.  True love is acting as the Savior did, serving wholeheartedly and teaching unabashedly, for only when we love like our Savior can we truly say we love at all. 

            So when I’m giving inmates their meals, or their laundry, or listening in consternation as they ask the same question for the hundredth time, I have to love them.  God, after all, gives us our food, our clothes, and listens as we ask the same question for the hundredth time.  So let’s love one another, for if God loves inmates, then we should too.

Not a fan

I must admit, I am taking the title of today's post from a book I'm seen.  You see, we shouldn't be fans of Jesus Christ.

A fan will do a lot of crazy things for the object of his/her fanaticism, whether it's midnight releases, standing in line for hours, attending conventions, or any such self-imposed rigors.  Fans, however, just do the outward motions.  They'll buy the toys, but leave them in mint condition; they'll dress up as their favorite characters, but not truly examine what those characters teach;  they'll speak loudly in favor of a social virtue but do little or nothing in their own lives to make that virtue more common.

In short, we shouldn't be fans of Jesus Christ--instead, we should be His disciples.

To the uninformed, the disciple may seem just as illogical as the fan.  The disciple, for example, will donate large amounts of money and time to an organization with far more money and manpower than the disciple has.  He/she will give up previous or potential habits, will, at great effort, deliberately avoid seemingly harmless, socially acceptable behavior, and will, quite literally, change his/her life in order to accommodate the teachings of a lot of dead people.

Today, it seems like it's easier to be a fan than a disciple: the fan just has to jump and shout a lot, while the disciple has the quiet job of changing human nature.

Both will be highly visible efforts.  No one camps out days before a book signing without understanding that people will see you; no one gives up gluttony or vulgar speech without coming to terms with its social ramifications.

Of the two, discipleship is the hardest, and it is discipleship which is asked of us.  We're not asked to go about an occasional, herculean effort; instead, we're asked to work day-in and day-out.

I love to see the temple

We've been taking monthly temple trips this summer; unfortunately, due to my own inattentiveness we weren't able to this month,  Although that particular day didn't end up a complete disaster, it was nevertheless frustrating because we had been looking forward to it.  Being in the temple is such a positive experience, you can't help but be disappointed when the chance is lost.

Being in the temple is like being enveloped in purpose.  Everything is in its' proper place and context, and in its' proper strength and priority.  In a world where our priorities are increasingly disjointed, where good is called evil and evil good, the temple is a balm and a refuge.

Where else can we be endowed with such power?  Where else can we be so cleansed?  Where else can we commune with God at such a personal level?

So let's take the temple less for granted, and make each trip a pilgrimage, whether that pilgrimage lasts hours or just minutes.  Let's make our homes more similar to the temple, and prepare ourselves to fully receive the blessings of the temple.

They the builders

We American Mormons have a patriotic kick about us, don't we?  Thing is, we see how good we have it.  Yes, other countries are good too (maybe not quite as good, but good).  Other countries are blessed by the Lord and have good people in them.  But this country, specifically, is where the Restoration took place.  Our freedoms, given to us by God, enabled the gospel to come forth (also from God).

So when I look at the freedoms, blessings, and just plain goodness of our country, I have to thank the Good Lord for it.  Sure, we have our faults, our telestial cultures, our eccentricities and our collective sins.  No country doesn't.  But there is goodness and truth in this country, and I love America for it.

Just some music

Here's some music I like.  Enjoy!

Being tired of being tired

For most of us, fatigue is a far too common state of affairs.  Not just physical, but emotional, intellectual, or spiritual fatigue can be draining, especially if prolonged over periods we feel are unreasonable.  Fatigue can not only sap our ability to do work now, but can insidiously lessen our ability to do work later.

Often, however, we cannot decrease the amount of work we are required to do.  We must do enough work to make a living; we must follow the Savior and work for the Kingdom; we must continue to be husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, mothers, and fathers.  The vast majority of sources of work cannot be honorably abandoned.  So how do we decrease our fatigue without decreasing the amount of work we must do?  Let me suggest three things.

First, we should realize that work is a natural state of affairs.  A good portion of fatigue sometimes comes from the unrealistic expectation that work is just a temporary inconvenience, and that life is most complete and joyful when it is filled exclusively with leisure.  Society tells us that we can indeed retire and live only for ourselves, and when reality is cruel enough to dampen this dream, we leave disappointed.  When we accept that work is a natural part of a joy-filled life, then the false expectation does not leave us disappointed.

Second, we should look carefully at the type of work we do.  When we can change what work we do, we should do what we feel is the best work for us.  This can mean that we enter a field of employment where we are challenged and inspired, or that we can conduct our personal relationships and service in ways that are consistent with the principles of the gospel.  When circumstances dictate what type of work we must do, we can always find a way to be inspired by it, to find the best in a bad situation and see God's loving kindnesses all around us.

Third, we should seek renewal in equal portions to work.  A weight lifter on a crash diet does not become stronger.  Rather, without the nutrients to repair his muscles after lifting, he only injures himself and weakens his ability to lift more.  With adequate nutrition, people can work out for hours a day on strenuous regimens, building large amounts of strength in relatively short amounts of time.   Similarly, we can do large amount of physical, emotional, or spiritual work should we provide ourselves with the needed fuel.  For physical work, the answer is food and water.  For spiritual work, especially that involved with the work of salvation, the renewal we need can be found in personal or family scripture study, temple worship, or personal prayer or reflection.

So let's get to work!  Our work is important, and cannot be shirked, and when we commit ourselves to lives of joy and work, when we prioritize the most important work, and when we give ourselves the renewal we need to continue working, we will find that we are far stronger than if we were simply seeking amusement and leisure.  "For behold this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and  eternal life of man."