Day 6 (April 12, 2011)
Question: How do I control physical passions?
Read: Matthew 5 – The Sermon on the Mount
Includes the Beatitudes (v.3–12) .
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
22 …whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
28 … whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Ponder: Can I set a righteous example for others which will help me control my passions better? How can I let my light shine?
Some of my “passions” I need to control better include out of control eating, out of control spending, wasting time on the unimportant while procrastinating the important things, talking about doing without doing, being hypocritical, being late, talking too much – listening too little …the list just goes on and goes on.
Can I make an effort to set a good example and overcome those passions? Would trying to be a good example help me overcome them? I know for some who are trying to lose weight, posting their successful experiences with food helps them stay accountable and be successful in their efforts, and at the same time help me with my own efforts through their example.
I think the biggest challenge for me is being a righteous example without coming across as being self-righteous. There’s a fine line there. We all know people who just go about quietly doing the right things. I have a friend, Jen Morris, who just does good things. She never goes about bragging, never puts others down, never gossips about other people or gets sucked into gossip. She gives quiet acts of service to others on a daily basis, without being compelled to do so. She just is a good person who lets her light shine quietly through her example and her light of testimony. I would love to be that kind of person. She’s a long way ahead of me, but I can think of her and try to follow her example in my own life. That appears to be the answer – when we are righteous, we don’t come across as self-righteous. It’s just when we try to act righteous without actually being so that we come across as the other.
1 comment:
Ditto to all of your uncontrolled passions. I struggle with ALL the same things. Your ideas for how to overcome remind me of a quote by Elder Scott. "We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become." I think at some point with a lot of work and practice, a new and better habit just becomes who we are, but it is SO hard to overcome that natural man.
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