This morning, I read Elder David A. Bednar's talk, Bear Up Their Burdens With Ease. I like the "with ease" part, but I, like many other people, am not really excited about the part about bearing up burdens. As Elder Bednar correctly stated, I "Sometimes... mistakenly... believe that happiness is the absence of a [heavy] load." I typically think of heaven as a place that's peaceful and relaxing, and I feel closest to heaven when I'm relaxing in a peaceful place. But what I hate to admit is that it takes a lot of work to get there. But really, I should have a better attitude about it, and here's why:
Anyone who reads my blog posts regularly is probably aware that I like the concept of exercise. You do something, you gradually become more capable at it; you stop doing it, you gradually become less capable. That analogy applies to so many things, but it can also be taken literally. The more work we do, the better we get at doing work. We become stronger, more capable, and in general, more awesome. It's worth the amount of effort we put into it. It doesn't even really matter what kind of work we do or whether the work itself produces anything. If nothing else, we are the product the work produces. I saw this on an ad for Deseret Industries. "Whereas most businesses use people to move or build things, Deseret Industries uses things to move and build people." Leland Hardy, director of Deseret Industries.
God uses almost all work that same way. Whether the work we do is just holding down a job, or hunting for one, or going through school, or dealing with life's various afflictions and adversity, any work we do strengthens us, and that makes us more like our Omnipotent and Industrious Heavenly Father. Theoretically, God, immediately after having reached the state of Godhood, could have sat back on some cloud and never have to lift a finger again, but instead, He went to work building worlds, inhabiting them with His spirit children (us), and working countless miracles for our benefit throughout all of recorded history. While He could be relaxing in the kind of heaven I imagine, instead He's working, and trying to get us to do our share of the work, because He knows that working is good for all of us. I'm going to try to convince myself that I believe that, and I hope that that'll help motivate me to do the work I need to do.
1 comment:
Work that we believe in, that we find meaningful and important,and/or work that we are good at becomes less of a burden and more of a joy.
When talking about getting a job to support yourself and future family,it is a good idea to prepare for and look for work that gives you that feeling of doing something worthwhile. But even if one does find oneself (hopefully temporarily) in a job that is just a job,remembering WHY we work helps.
Sometimes we let ourselves get bogged down in the drudgery or labor, but if we can see the bigger perspective of whatever work we have to do, that alone will help ease the burden.
"Housewives" sometimes feel that their work is meaningless, unrewarding, and never done. But when you see a pile of dirty dishes and reflect that they mean that people you love had plenty to eat, you feel grateful.
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