Day 193 Taking Ownership of Our Choices

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. Let's see what we can learn from the antagonists today.

Hmm. Welcome to day 193 and welcome to Alma chapter 27. As today you're going to read Alma chapter 27 verses one through 19.

We're going to see the The Anti-Nephi-Lehi's be rescued by Ammon and his brethren as they take them back to the Nephites here. And actually just a quick nod to, I think it's verse 16 inside of today's reading, which actually takes us full circle over to Alma 17 verses 1, 2, and 3. We did that about two weeks ago where this whole story starts.

So we we went back in time for these 10 chapters and now Alma 27 16 puts us up to current events But that not our verse for today Our verse for today is Alma 27 verse 2 Let look at what happens here and see if we can hold the mirror up for ourselves and gain something from this a little bit Alma 27 verse 2 says, And it came to pass that the Amalekites, because of their loss, were exceedingly angry, and when they saw that they could not seek revenge from the Nephites, They began to stir up the people in anger against their brethren, the people of anti-Nephi-Lehi. Therefore they began again to destroy them. Now this one's kind of a destructive verse and you're like, Allen, what are we going to pull from this one?

But I think it's interesting to take a lesson here from the Amalekites. The Amalekites are very angry because of their loss. Where did that loss come from?

Well, it came from their choice to go to war with another people. And by going to war with another people, they were beaten back and they had incurred losses in that battle. That made them more angry.

But isn't it interesting that their anger comes from their own choice? They chose to go to battle. They chose to be destructive.

And then from that loss, they got more angry. Take care. For all the bad situations and then continued to seek their destruction as well.

This is classic deference of Ownership 101 right here. The Amalekites don't take ownership of their own choices and it only makes them more angry. Now, what does this look like in our lives?

Because somebody might be sitting there and saying, Allen, I don't go around like murdering people over here. And then it makes me mad if I lose some friends. I get it.

We could turn down the level of violence just a little bit. And I don't know what this looks like in your life, but I'll give you an example of what it looks like in mine. There's been situations and times where I overfill my schedule.

I do too much inside of the calendar day or the calendar week. And I say yes to too many different commitments. In my own choice of over-committing, I get frustrated and flustered and I feel like I'm running a hundred miles an hour.

And then there are occasions where I defer that frustration over to my own family, my daughters or my wife, because of the things that they're trying to put in the calendar. It was my choice to overfill the calendar. And yet in my own frustration, I sometimes defer that over and pass that frustration on to my loved ones.

I think we can find great power in taking ownership of our own choices and realizing that the atonement was exactly designed for the mistakes that we make It okay to take ownership of our mistakes and then to seek repentance and change In fact, I think the Atonement of Jesus Christ is based in our own personal ownership of our actions. It is the very nature of taking accountability and responsibility for the things that we have chosen to do. The Lord still loves us for it and He wants us to repent and change because of those actions.

Rather than pass them on to those around us in a destructive path of deferring ownership from our own choices. That one Maya got a little deep today, but it's something that I get really excited about because it helps me look in the mirror and say, Allen, don't defer ownership of your choices. Keep ownership where it is due and that ownership is right with you.

I like how that kind of rhymed there. That was a good one. 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.