Day 165 Profiting from Discord and Scarcity

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus tells his followers that they are the salt of the earth, and in the same sentence offers a warning that savorless salt is good for nothing. Join me in an attempt to be savory salt as I share each day one verse of scripture and one small thought. Perhaps this small daily emphasis can lead to greater savor in your life and ultimately you and I can be savory salt.

Hello, my friends and family, wherever you're listening from. Thank you for joining me and know that I'm cheering for your every success. Welcome to day 165 on our 365-day journey through the Book of Mormon together.

Kind of a cool checkpoint there. Today, you're going to be reading Alma chapter 11, verses 1 through 23. Kind of an interesting set of verses here.

And I want to dive straight into our verses. Verse for the day. Let's take a look at Alma chapter 11, verse 16.

It says, "And a Shibbolm is a half of a Shiblon." Okay, okay, I can't do this anymore. That's not really the verse for the day, but I had to sit here and kind of picture you listening to this. I'm sorry.

I'm having a little bit of fun today. I got a smile on my face. I'm laughing.

I know that I'm picturing you sitting there going, "Wow, where Allen going to drive this one for the verse of the day?" But I thought I'd give it a shot anyway. I guess maybe I broke the rules just a little bit on Savory Salt, as that's not really the verse for the day, although it is actually Alma 11, verse 16. Let's actually take a look at our verse.

We're actually setting up a monetary system here to kind of give you the idea of just how much money is offered to Alma and Amulek to reject God. Thank you for listening to the cross-examination between Zeezrom and Alma and Amulek. Instead, our verse today is actually, in reality, going to be Alma 11:20.

This is what it says, "Now it was for the sole purpose to get gain, because they received their wages according to their employ. Therefore, they did stir up the people to riotings, and all manner of disturbances and wickedness, that they might have more employ, that they might get money according to the suits which were brought before them. Therefore, they did stir up the people against Alma and Amulek." Now, who are the "they's" in this verse?

Well, these are the lawyers and the judges. They specifically make money off of discord and disturbance and riots and wickedness, and because they make money off of those things, their job is to incite those things. They make more money if you're more disturbed or stirred up or rioting.

And thus there is an incentive for these lawyers and judges to have the people not live peacefully. Now, Stephen Covey might phrase this a win-lose situation where the lawyers win, but you lose. And he also taught the principle of a win-win scenario.

Now he's doing this inside of "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People." But I think there's an interesting lesson to be learned here. When we are considering the way that we act in our lives, considering what we do in our jobs, considering the relationships that we have with others, do we design those relationships to be win-win relationships? We are better because of the relationship, and the people we have the relationship, are they better as well?

The lawyers and the judges that are set up here that are going to cross-examine Alma and Amulek are not seeking a win-win relationship. They want to win off of someone else's loss. At its very core, that is what's called a scarcity mindset.

It is a mindset that the only way you win is if you win. Thank you for watching. We all have wins that we can accrue.

In fact, our Heavenly Father promises us that all things can be given to those that keep the commandments: "All that the Father hath." How does that work? Is that some giant pie that's going to be divided up? No, it's going to be all that the Father has.

The lawyers and judges that we see in verse 20 have based their lives and their mindset off the idea that in order for them to win, someone else must lose. I believe that Alma and Amulek wanted to directly combat that because they understood that through the Atonement of Christ, there is a win-win that can be found in every relationship. So as a nod to Stephen Covey and "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," I would say seek the win-win relationships in your life and do it through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and watch the wins accrue.

That's all for today, my friends. Remember that "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass." Keep it small, keep it simple, and always seek to be savory salt. I'll be here tomorrow, and I hope you are too.