Flying Over Mud

A few days ago, I heard part of an analogy in a BYU Devotional. It was something about people being like pigs wallowing in a mire when they should be more like soaring eagles instead. As I discussed this analogy with the others at Institute, I remarked that no one is really a pig. We are all born as eagles. It's just our behavior that sometimes makes us comparable to pigs.

Earth is a muddy place. There are a lot of aspects of the earth that we should avoid touching, if we want to keep ourselves clean. And keeping ourselves clean is essential if we want to fly. I can't imagine any bird flying well with their wings coated with mud. Eagles are some of the greatest flyers out there, but even they would have trouble flying if their wings were too dirty.

We are Celestial creatures with infinite potential. The trouble is that we live in a Telestial world, and it's easy, and even tempting, to visit some of the lower regions of this fallen world. However, it's imperative that we resist such temptations. We need to keep ourselves spiritually clean if we are to reach our eternal potential, and that doesn't give us much room to wallow in the mud.

This world is riddled with mud holes, and some of them seem surprisingly appealing. But as fun as playing in the mud is, flying is even better. Given the choice between the two activities, I'd take flying over mud any day. And we can't fly if our wings are dirty, so we should try to keep them clean. I know that it's tempting to spend some time in the mud holes, but that's not what we're meant to do. Eagles aren't built for wallowing in mud holes. God intends us to soar over them.