You're doing it wrong...
I was listening to Jesus the Christ again this morning and Talmage commented on the following verse:
28 ¶ aCome unto me, all ye that blabour and are heavy laden, and I will give you crest. 29 Take my ayoke upon you, and blearn of me; for I am cmeek and dlowly in eheart: and ye shall find frest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is aeasy, and my burden is light.
This passage started me thinking about my life right now. Things are slow at my place of business, as they are all over the world, and my car that had served so well to take me here and there for 6 years died, forcing me to get a new one, and a new payment with it. The kids are out of school, with the inherent stresses that accompany having a teen and a tween running around with their almost 4 year old sister. This stress is most readily manifest in my wife's mental state, since she is the one that spends most of her days with the kids. All of these stresses, coupled with all of the financial obligations of life, can seem overwhelming. In fact, night before last I went through our debts and felt completely overwhelmed at the prospect of ever being free of credit cards and loan debts.
All of these challenges can seem insurmountable, especially in these difficult times, but they pale in comparison to the spiritual challenges that we all face each day. The temptations that surround us all, every vice so readily available; alcohol, drugs, pornography and sexual gratification available with just the click of a mouse. How can we be expected to face these challenges and weather these storms? How can we expect to overcome.
If we focus only on our own powers, we will all come to the same end. The cares of the world will wear us down to the point where we just don't care anymore what is right or wrong, focusing rather on what is easiest. A friend once confided in me that he had chosen to follow an alternative path because he was "tired of fighting." I have felt that same way from time to time, and it is at those times that I need to check my life and see if I am doing it wrong. Am I trying to go it alone, or am I relying on the tender mercies of the Lord who has promised to carry all of these burden? Am I willing to give him the heavier load that I carry in favor of the lighter yoke of Gospel compliance and commandment keeping?