Pure Religion and Missing the Mark

James states that pure religion is to care for the orphans and the widows. (James 1:27) I was reading about the meaning of life being relational. That as social beings it is our relationship to each other that matters most. This is what the scriptures are teaching us. It was the beginning chapters of Genesis are trying to convey, our relationship to God and our relationship to others. It is in these relationships we find meaning. Jesus taught that we are to first, love God, and second, love each other. 

Yet we find this difficult to do. This life is a life of suffering. It is not hard to see that. Whether it is nature or caused by agency, our lives are filled with suffering. Theodicy has been a subject studied for a long time. Which brings me to my point. It is important study to understand suffering. We need to understand it, understanding it helps know how best to alleviate it. Further, it is a complex issue theologically, one that has led me away from the Gospel altogether. But if all we do is theorize we have missed the mark.

Fiona and Terryl Givens state in their book The God Who Weeps, "We humans have a lamentable tendency to spend more time theorizing the reasons behind human suffering, than working to alleviate human suffering, and in imagining a heaven above, than creating a heaven in our homes and communities." I have sat in on many classes discussing the need to alleviate suffering. I remember one fellow student who consistently talked about it and they rationalized that the rich should be coerced into helping. I couldn't help but notice this student always had a Starbucks coffee every class. Why not save the money spent on the coffee to give to the poor? Maybe they did in other ways, but it illustrates my point. This is also not to say that rich are free from responsibility. 

As Jacob Marley said in response to Ebenezer, "'Business!' cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. 'Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!'" A Christmas Carol is one of my favorite books and is a prime example of our relational duty to "succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees." (D&C 81:5) 

A Couple of Examples

One day I was in the temple and I had 45 minutes or so before the next session. I had a couple of choices. I could sit read the scriptures or do some initiatories. I didn't really feel like doing much, so I just decided to sit and read the scriptures. However, as I was reading, the Spirit impressed upon me that it was good to read the scriptures but there remained a better choice, one of service. Precisely what the scriptures teach us to do. I closed the scriptures, set them down, and went to work.

The other example happened while attending a church class. It was about 10 minutes prior to the meeting when I got a text from the Bishop. There was someone in need of service. They were moving out of their apartment and it was pretty urgent. If I remember correctly they were just starting to come back to Church, not that that matters, everyone deserves our help. So the Bishop asked if I could gather up a crew and help. I went to the class and asked for help. As I was organizing the help, the teacher of the class got fairly annoyed at me grabbing people from the class to go help. Maybe I could have done a better job in the way I asked, maybe it was an off day for the teacher. Nevertheless, it taught me an important lesson. It is better to serve than sit in a class about service if the need arises. 

I remember after it was all finished, I gave the Bishop the update and told him all that transpired including the teacher's response. His response has been a cherished memory. He had some of the most kind words I have ever received. He said, "you are wise beyond your years." It touched me greatly. He was one of the best leaders I have had in the Church and a great example of service. I do not say this to brag by any means. Just some thoughts about service and knowing full well I could do better. Much better. I have many instances where I have chosen the poorer path.

In the end it is up to each of us. Will we choose to serve?