Ericksons Come Blogging: Jared came home... It was his "Comehoming"

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Jared came home... It was his "Comehoming"

Today in our priesthood meeting we talked about pride. It basically comes down to enmity... with God. Symptoms of pride include competition, comparison, shame, etc. We seek to establish our self-worth by what others think of us. We worry more about what others think than what God thinks. We spend more time thinking about ourselves than we do thinking about the needs of others.

I don't think that most of our family has a problem with pride in the sense that we think we are better than other people (maybe), but I do think that some of the symptoms that I explained apply to me and to us all.

I realized that a prideful attitude can be reflected in our approach to church. We can think, "What's in it for me?" We can ask our Father for help and blessings without being grateful. We need to have a balance.

Recognize that we are not all prideful just because we can see some pride in our attitudes. It is not all or nothing. What we do for ourselves isn't prideful, it is necessary to keep us healthy and strong to help others. If we are serving beyond our capacity, then perhaps we don't understand that God wants us to take time to strengthen ourselves. Like it says in Mosiah 4 we should not run faster than we have strength. What motivates us to do that?

I see how us brothers often talk about who is stronger, who is "better", who is better-looking (it's Jared... for now).

I hope we all know that it is just fun and playful, but at the same time I see how it is a form of comparison. We just need to recognize people for the good they do, and be happy for them, but not let ourselves become unhappy as a result.