As I was studying last night, I came upon the following aha moment: "Obedience to law is the habit of the free man; the transgressor fears the law, for he brings upon himself deprivation and restraint, not because of the law, which would have protected him in his freedom, but because of his antagonism to law" (Talmage, Articles of Faith, 1977 copyright edition, p. 53).
The part that particularly fascinated me was that the transgressor (me) fears the law because it brings deprivation and restraint when I make choices contrary to it. I know when I disobey that there will be a consequence, and I just stand there waiting for it to happen, knowing it will in some way. The opposite of deprivation is living a full, rich life. Why then, do we ever make the choice that will lead to the opposite of what we ultimately desire?
The only answer I have for that now is that we want the immediate desire and decide that the blessing for obedience is too far down the road. The whole 2nd article of fe is about free agency, so maybe I'll get more into this as I go along.
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Since I have been studying the scriptures the last few years, I have found laws and obedience to be an interesting topic to ponder.
Many of you know that I am not a fan of our current political system. At times this conflicts with the Twelfth Article of Faith, which reads, We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
You may be wondering what the connection is. You say that you fear man's law and it's consequences (if I read that right). When I make a choice regarding a law, I base it on God's laws, and the consequences for them, and make my choice accordingly. An extreme example would be the protection of my family, as explained by Captain Moroni to the people of Nephi in the book of Helaman. There might be some of our national laws that would conflict with what it says in Helaman, but, I believe, that, if done righteously, I will be forgiven by my Heavenly Father (and, ultimately, that's all that really matters).
Huh. I understood the entire entry to be about fearing God's laws, not about fearing "man's law and it's consequences." Both sets of laws (man's law and God's law) and our obedience to them are interesting topics though. I had to read the beginning of the Talmage quote about 5 times before I could understand it.
Regarding the answer as to why do we sometimes make the wrong decision when we know what is at stake, could it possibly be that we "forget" what the blessings/consequences to our actions are? I tampoco can believe that I sometimes would really make a wrong choice if I could just stop and "remember" what is at stake. Going back to the Talmage quote, I never would have thought of obedience being a "habit" to those who really understand the magnitude of God's blessings (and thus are truely "free").
Definitely worthy of some more study time.
Also, this was a great choice for a (we)blog entry, as I am sure all of your readers also enjoy the scriptures. It also keeps us up to date on where you are with Goal #2 for this year.
I was thinking of God's laws...
I don't think much about man's laws except that I know God expects me to be obedient to them, and I really don't want to have what freedoms I have as a citizen taken away through disobedience (or ignorance either for that matter). I think most of our freedoms are taken away through our ignorance; could that be true in God's kingdom as well? How much do people miss out on because they would prefer not to know...?
I don't think we forget the consequences, except that maybe we pretend that we do. I think the Holy Ghost is always there like Jiminy Cricket to remind us. We really do choose not to listen, or tell ourselves that just this once it will be ok. At least for me...
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