21 I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another–I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.
Can we even begin to fathom the grace that we receive from God, moment to moment, second to second? When we take the time to count our blessings, isn’t the list always far longer than we had anticipated? And as King Benjamin points out, we fall further into debt every day as our Heavenly Father continually blesses us beyond what we deserve.
No wonder that two chapters later, Benjamin will urge us not to stifle our own generosity by asking whether the recipient “has brought upon himself his misery” (Mosiah 4:17). The reality is that we have all brought plenty of misery upon ourselves and have been rescued and uplifted in ways that we do not deserve. If God has given us so much more than we are capable of repaying, then what is stopping us from giving more to others than they could possibly give back to us?
With this perspective in mind, today I will:
- thank my Heavenly Father for the blessings He has given me and continues to give me, and
- emulate His generosity by giving freely to those who need my help.
great post. I was taught by a former leader about the danger of the “deserve”. Often, as natural men (women), we tend to feel that we deserve more than what we've received, and that others deserve less than they receive. Pride, covetousness, and ingratitude all play a role in these feelings. Gratitude and generosity are attributes the Savior taught us to overcome those feelings. Gratefully, due to the atonement of Jesus Christ, none of us receives what we deserve. We're all blessed by the atonement, even if we don't accept the full blessings it affords us. Great reminder for me to be grateful and generous. Thanks
The Three Pillars of Eternity: The Creation the Fall and the Atonement
By the world’s standards, I am old/elderly. To me 2:21 is my daily theme for being preserved by Him who “is preserving you(me) from day to day, by lending you(me) breath, that ye(I) may live and move and do according to your(my) own will, and even supporting you(me) from one moment to another…”
I am probably more than a little strange in that I believe we are all, were it not for 2:21’s “preserver”, born dead (as well as being born to die). COVID, and all other of mortality’s “deaths, damages and destructions” fit neatly into the Fall and Lucifer’s dominion within it. Could it be we daily breath because we are being preserved and protected by Him who is our preserver and protector?
Thank you for those thoughts. Benjamin’s use of the word “lending” does make you think, doesn’t it? We take so many things for granted, including our next breath. We have so much more to be grateful for than we even realize!