We often see and hear people who pray to God that he will help some sports
team win over the other. Of course we want the team that we support to be able
to win all their encounters.
Sports were not inspired of the Lord. They are the invention of man. Today
they have become, to many, not just a diversion or entertainment, but a
distraction from the true purpose of our life here on earth.
Sports have been placed above our devotion to God. Most of the games are
played on Sunday and as such keep us from keeping it holy and devoted; to
include offering our oblations to God. Instead of attending to our church
meetings and thinking about spiritual things, many think only about the big
game or the super bowl party.
I was disappointed one day to hear an employee of the missionary department
talking about watching the super bowl game the day before.
We have so little time here on the earth to learn the things of God. That is
the reason that we have the commandment to honor His day and keep it
holy.
It is as if sports have become our God. If we spent as much time
loving our neighbors and caring for them as we do watching sports then the
world would be a better place.
To illustrate this point recently over 1 million people turned out to
celebrate their city’s team winning a championship basketball game. The
question that I ask, is how many of these million people would come to see a
prophet of the Lord speak and give them the word of the Lord or turn out to do
a service project to beautify the city or help someone in need?
In 100 or 200 years this basketball championship would not even be a blip on
the history of mankind and no one would even care about the outcome or the
players involved.
Does celebrating in such a way make people better or make them more
compassionate or do service to their fellow man? I think you could answer that
question with a resounding no. And in the eternal scheme of things the
championship and a basketball tournament has little or no redeeming value. It
we let things like this cloud our perspective and keep us from our Heavenly
Father.
My dear grandchildren, keep your life in perspective. Enjoy the game or sport occasionally, but do
not let it take the place of the Lord in your life.
Love,
Grandpa
Recently in the news we have heard a lot about how people have been upset
with things that have happened in the past.
People have been upset because their ancestors were slaves or slaveholders.
They have taken offense because the confederate flag has been displayed.
In Europe there are those who deny that the holocaust and persecution of the
Jews ever took place.
People seem to be uncomfortable with things in the past unless they fit with
their ideas of perfection.
We become so sensitive that movies that depict what is esteemed to even have
the slightest hint of what we consider offensive are censored. Yet we watch
murder and adulterous behavior and consider that entertaining.
Who are we to judge what happened in the past? How does this determine our
righteousness?
Can we learn from the past without being so critical? Does this make us
better people by being critical of things that have gone on before, which we
have no control over?
Can't we learn without being condemning?
Brigham Young talked about Offense. One of my favorite quotes is: "He
who takes offense when no offense was intended is a fool and he who takes
offense when offense was intended is probably a fool."
We have enough things to do in our life to keep the commandments and be kind
that we should not worry about what happened in the past and affected
others.
There are two things that Christ taught. Judge not that ye be not judged.
And judge righteous judgment.
Those who are critical of the past are in the bonds of iniquity and the gall
of bitterness. Most do not understand what the poet Bobbie Burns has written. O
wad some Power the giftie
gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae
mony a blunder free us,
An' foolish notion:
What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us,
An' ev'n
devotion!
You may have your own thoughts about things and how they should be, but
expressing them to others and especially on social media is ill advised and usually
invites discord.
When I was growing up, we did not have e-mail or social media and the
letters to the editor were read by the editor and only those that were proper
were published. Now anyone who has
access to the Internet can comment on anything and display their absolute
ignorance by expressing whatever they have on their mind. As Christ said, it is not what goes into the
mouth that defiles the man but, that which cometh out.
This may be a strange title for a blog. You may ask me what prompted me to
write about such an intriguing subject.
In a recent conversation with our son we discussed the fact that some of the
young people who come into the workplace do not know how to work. He had to
terminate one of his workers. They did not follow through and he had to do his
work and theirs. As an excuse the reply was that he did not get mad and chew
her out.
This fits into the subject very well. When I was growing up my mother used
to use that expression to help us to look for more than just our superficial
tasks. We needed to be able to see dirt. In the case above the employee was not
able to see dirt. That is go beyond the perceived assignment and do a complete
and thorough job. In other words see dirt and take care of the dirt.
The scriptural admonition for this is found in D&C 58:27-28. The key
words are "anxiously engaged". This means you need to be proactive.
You need to be motivated to see dirt.
That reminds me of the words of a hymn that we used to sing. "Have I
done any good in the world today".
The words that have been taken out are: "the world has no use for a
drone." As you know there are three types of bees in a hive; the queen,
the worker, and the drone. The drone is necessary to mate with the queen,
but he is not productive in producing honey. Thus the drone is a typification
of laziness.
I have only had to dismiss one of the people who worked for me. She happened
to be the mother of one of my son's friends. She just did not work quickly and
efficiently. She was not a poor employee; she spent more time socializing with
the patients and as a result did not keep up with the assigned tasks. She was
distracted.
When you are in the employment of others look for dirt and do not get
distracted.
Love,
Grandpa
