Practice, Exercise, Sacrifice, and Abundance
"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." (Matt. 16:25)
"I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another—
"I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants." (Mosiah 2:20-21)
There are countless other verses like these in the scriptures, all pointing to the completeness of what the Lord asks of each of us. The sheer magnitude of these verses is overwhelming. Couple that with our inherent laziness, and you've got yourself enough guilt ammunition to last a thousand lifetimes.
I've looked at these verses dozens of times, each time wondering how I could ever come to do what is asked. My own nature leans me toward absolutism, forcing my mind into a destructive all-or-nothing mentality. I can tell you that nothing could be more detrimental to doing what is asked of us.
I woke up the other morning like I do most mornings, fighting myself over whether I would go to the gym or not. I lay in bed weighing the pros and cons, and the cons were looking to take yet another easy victory. I thought to myself that just a little more sleep at nights would make the difference I needed to get the energy to go and exercise in the morning. Such thinking has been my crutch for a while, and living with a wife that has been transforming me into a night owl like herself, I find it easier and easier to justify my not exercising in the mornings like I need to.
But I couldn't shake the question of how I was ever going to break the cycle. I'm in a daily energy decline, with the only end to this drought being my eventual and early death. Yeah, real positive stuff.
And then it dawned on me.
There are some pretty basic and eternal principles at play that reach across matter, time, and space. In physics, chemistry, and biology, it takes energy to make energy. Cellular respiration burns energy to make more energy. The tearing of muscle fibers makes more muscle. An object in motion tends to stay in motion. Etc, etc.
OK, I know that is pretty much a no-brainer, but it was interesting to have that hit me the way it did. If I wanted energy I needed to spend energy, and I needed to do so wisely. I've been in this position before—under-active and under-motivated—and then gone gung-ho, overstepped my limits (severely), and ended up more sore and wasted than before. Typically that leads to my swearing off physical activity for even more extended periods of time, thus deepening the vicious cycle.
As I got out of bed to go to the gym, I kept pondering on this principle of spending energy to gain energy. I was reminded of the spiritual doctrines and principles that go along with it. The nice thing about truth is that it usually pops up in more than one place. I thought on the parable of the talents and how the wise and profitable servants went and increased their talents by using them, while the unprofitable servant buried his; and in doing so had it taken away and given to the servant with 10 talents.
I've always found that part of the story interesting. Why did that servant get the extra talent? Why didn't the man just give it to a different servant and give him the chance to prove himself?
The answer is based in the principle of abundance. "…unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him." (Luke 19:26)
The Lord gives more unto those that have proven themselves worthy, not because he loves them more than the unprofitable servant. He gives more abundantly to those that generously impart of all their gifts and substance than to those that fearfully or selfishly cling to that which they have and impart not thereof. That is a key principle.
I also thought about the doctrines of sacrifice, obedience, and consecration and their direct tie with these principles. Energy, talents, and abundance do not come easily, nor are they meant to come immediately upon asking or doing. Each is meant to take time, even lifetimes to achieve. But that is the point. If bodybuilding was easy it wouldn't be valued. If faith, hope, and charity were easy we wouldn't be commanded at every turn to cultivate them.
Just as it takes years of practice to become great, or in some cases even just good, at some sports, it takes years of practice and doing to become good at being a disciple of Christ. Also, just as we aren't able or expected to become great at all things (we can't all be Michael Jordan, Pele, or Picasso), we aren't expected to become perfect in all gospel principles in this life. But, we are expected to try.
Just as diversity of activity, study, and interests are important to balance and well roundedness, so is diversity essential to gospel living. Each of us has been given specific talents and gifts, and those we have the unique opportunity to hone and perfect. But a one or two note song doesn't compare to the beauty of a full symphony. Just as our own lives are meant to become a symphony of characteristics and abilities, so is the Church meant to become the greatest synthesis of symphonic harmonies under heaven where all come and contribute of their gifts and special talents.
I could go on more, but I believe that this is more than sufficient to relay what I was pondering the other morning. What it has done for me is provided me with a much needed improvement in perspective. I now look at growing in the gospel, and in lots of other things, as a long-term commitment to becoming more than I could have ever hoped otherwise. I look forward to the process now almost as much as I do the end result. That, in and of itself, is a great accomplishment for me.
