Sometimes, to help myself feel better about the various acts of service I am frequently called upon to do, I think about the blessings I am earning for doing so, and how I might invoke those blessings when asking God for favors. I picture it like little crystals. When I do something good, I earn a crystal. The more good I do and the harder it is to do so, the more crystals I earn and the larger those crystals are. Then, when I pray, I can spend those crystals to make it more likely that I'll get the blessings I prayed for.
Of course, I know that's not how this really works. We get blessings for being good people, not for doing good things, and the blessings always take the form of what we most need, no matter what we pray for or how many brownie points we spend asking for it. Still, it's nice to have a(n admittedly inaccurate) way to visualize the good that comes from doing good. It's motivating. And it feels nice to ask God for blessings with the confidence that I've kind of earned them, rather than merely asking for a favor that I have little way of paying back. This way, I can "earn" the blessings I want, even though I know that that's not really how any of this actually works.
I know that I don't actually "earn" blessings and that I can't really call in favors or anything like that, but still, it's a nice thing to pretend about, especially if it helps me stay motivated to keep being good and doing service.
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