Monday, May 18, 2009

Are you a stumbling block?

In Alma 4:8-10 it reads:

8 For they saw and beheld with great sorrow that the people of the church began to be lifted up in the pride of their eyes, and to set their ahearts upon riches and upon the vain things of the world, that they began to be scornful, one towards another, and they began to persecute those that did bnot believe according to their own will and pleasure.
9 And thus, in this eighth year of the reign of the judges, there began to be great acontentions among the people of the church; yea, there were benvyings, and cstrife, and malice, and persecutions, and pride, even to exceed the pride of those who did not belong to the church of God.
10 And thus ended the eighth year of the reign of the judges; and the wickedness of the church was a great astumbling-block to those who did not belong to the church; and thus the church began to fail in its progress.

This was a short time after there was peace with the people of God. In Alma 1:30 it reads:

30 And thus, in their aprosperous circumstances, they did not send away any who were bnaked, or that were hungry, or that were athirst, or that were sick, or that had not been nourished; and they did not set their hearts upon criches; therefore they were dliberal to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, whether out of the church or in the church, having no erespect to persons as to those who stood in need.

How quick do we forget? The Lord blesses us in so many ways both spiritual and temporal when we are righteous. How can we sustain what it talks about in Alma 1:30? I believe as soon as we stop serving others and giving to others, the sooner we forget and get caught up in our own blessings both temporal and spiritual. We get stuck in our comfort zones, and we don't share temporally or spiritually with those around us. Then pride does its thing, and we end up like the same people in Alma 4. So, I ask this question. Am I a stumbling block for those around me? Have I got caught up in my own spiritual and temporal blessings? What am I giving back?

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