The Parable of the Sunburned Sailors

When I looked on LDS.org for the Parable of the Talents yesterday, the search bar thought I was looking for the Parable of the Sunburned Soldiers, which I hadn't heard of until then. Here is the story, summarized:

Three American Navy sailors thought they'd spend some free time they had getting "a world-class suntan." As they were sunbathing on the top part of the deck, the three of them foolishly fell asleep. They awakened to discover that the sun-facing sides of their bodies were covered in first degree burns. The ship's physician told them that it'd be wise for them to stay in bed for the next few days to allow their skin to heal. When they went to their commanding officer to request sick leave, he had this to say:

"Your request for sick leave is denied. When you signed up for the U.S. Navy you agreed to keep yourselves in good physical condition, to be combat ready at all times. You are now the property of the U.S. Navy. If we had an emergency aboard ship, none of you would be in a position to help. Instead of giving you three days sick leave, I sentence you to three days in the brig for misuse and abuse of government property."

The author of the New Era article in which this story was printed went on to say, "As spirit children of our Heavenly Father we are, in a very real sense, His property. ... 'For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s' (1 Cor. 6:20)".

As in the Parable of the Talents, God has given us many gifts, including our bodies and our lives. He expects us to use them wisely, to do good things with them, or at least not get them burned to a crisp. He wants us to take care of them, to maintain them, or at least not willfully or foolishly render them useless. The three soldiers in the story did not obey such wise counsel, and they paid the price, suffering from sunburns in the brig (in my opinion, a bad sunburn is punishment enough, but they're pretty strict in the military).

Luckily for us, God is more forgiving. I don't think He'd punish us for doing something like that, but I wouldn't be surprised if He stepped back and let nature take its course. If we don't protect our bodies with sunscreen and adequate shade, He'll teach us the importance of such protection by letting us get sunburns. If we don't exercise our bodies enough, He'll show us the consequences of that by letting us become weak. If we don't brush and floss often enough, He may give us a reminder in the form of a pair of cavities.

So remember how lucky you are to have all that God has given you. Take good care of it and use it well. Thank God for your many blessings by treating them with respect, so they may continue to be of use to you for a good, long time.