Treading on Rebellious Ground

Day sixty-eight

I woke this morning with the thought in my head that I needed to visit a seminary class today.  I prayed about it and decided that I should go.  With this prompting came a concern for the youth, so I included in my prayer a blessing for the youth and all those that work with them.  The youth have been on my mind a lot lately, I have a deep love for them, and the thought of losing one of them to the world breaks my heart.  So off to seminary I went! 

My scripture study today is on Genesis 13:8-9:

"And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren."

"Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left."

I am impressed with Abram's (Abraham's) reaction to his nephew Lot.  They have a problem: 'there was strife between their herdsmen (Gen 13:7) because the land was not able to bear all the flocks and herds  (Gen 13:6).  Abraham's approach to resolving this issue fascinates me because he is so humble about it.  Here is a man who is very rich (Gen 13:2) and an elder to Lot, yet he does not try to dominate the situation, in fact, he does the opposite and lets Lot make the first choice of land.  This says a lot about Abraham's character and his worthiness to have the priesthood.

This got me thinking: What strife do I have in my life? and What am I doing to remove the strife? 

What is strife?  The footnote says contention.  Under contention in the Guide to the Scriptures it states: 

Strife, arguing, and disputations. Contention, especially between members of the Lord’s Church or between family members, is not pleasing to the Lord.  Under the 'see other' it says: Rebellion.  Yikes!

So according to this, every time I cause strife, argue, or I'm involved in a disputation I am rebelling against God.  That is a scary perspective, it sounds so much worse when you add the word rebellion to the definition!  Nothing good comes from rebelling against God. 

This is what the Lord has said regarding those who rebel against him:

Woe to the rebellious children, (Isa 30:1)

The Lord redeemeth none such that rebel against him and die in their sins, (Mosiah15:26)

The rebellious shall be pierced with much sorrow, (D&C 1:3)

The Lord’s anger is kindled against the rebellious, (D&C 56:1; D&C 63:1-6)

If there is any doubt about how strongly the Lord feels about contention and rebellion, just look at what happened to Satan when he rebelled against God; cast out of heaven, no body, misery all the time.  In the scriptures we learn that rebellion leads to apostasy, which leads us to be like Satan, which in turn means that we will suffer being cast out and be in misery all the time.  This just keeps getting worse!

A quick reflection on my life shows that I have been guilty of such offenses to God.  I am not proud of that fact, the words ashamed and horrified are more fitting.  How could I do this to someone that I claim to love so much?  To top it off, I know that I am not the only one that causes strife or contention, the world is filled with it.  How much sorrow the Lord must feel from the rebellion in the world!

What can I do about it?

The Lord has given this advice:

• Keep your pride in check (Pride causes contention, Prov. 13:10)
• Be more forgiving (If any man have a quarrel against any, forgive as Christ forgave, Col 3:13)
• Avoid foolish questions and contention (Titus 3:9)
• Learn and live the gospel (Establish my gospel, that there may not be so much contention, D&C 10:62-64)
• Stop doing it (Cease to contend with one another D&C 136:23)
• Repent (If he confess his sins and repent, him shall ye forgive, Mosiah 26:29)

Abraham provides us with a great example of following the Lord's advice on this topic, he diffused a situation that could have had lasting consequences, by being humble. There was no arguing, just choices.  This was a great reminder for me to choose my battles wisely.  I need to ask myself: Is it worth treading on rebellious ground?  The answer will always be no. The challenge is to remember this lesson when I'm in the contentious moment and have my actions reflect that of the Lord's.