2.121 Just Idling...

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus calls us the salt of the earth, a bold reminder that our lives are meant to carry his flavor, his truth, and his love to the world. Join me each day to explore one verse of scripture and one thought, striving to stay full of savor and truly live as savory salt. Hello, my friends, great to have you with me.

Today let's be anxiously engaged in a good cause and bring to pass much righteousness. I've got a question for you. Why do you do the things you do and what keeps you doing them?

This week you've been reading Doctrine and Covenants sections 41 to 44, focusing specifically on 42, the monster there called the law, as well as Mosiah chapters 8 through 11. And we're going to get to the Mosiah chapters here pretty soon. We've got another thought here inside of Doctrine and Covenants section 42.

This is an interesting section as this law that rolls out has a lot of key phrases and words and a lot of commandments, right? It is the law. And so, it was difficult for me to try and pick and choose.

And yet, this one, something that stuck out to me, and I thought, you know what, that's going to help us with savory salt, so let's make sure that we have that one. Our verse for today is Doctrine and Covenants section 42, verse 42. Go figure!

It says this: Thou shalt not be idle, for he that is idle shall not eat the bread, nor wear the garments of the laborer. Idleness is an interesting term. What exactly does idle mean?

What does it mean to be idle? I think it's interesting because while there are those that are worker bees, right? They're constantly working.

They've got kind of a hum about them. I've thought about what idleness can be and how it can sneak into our lives. And I think what I've landed on is being idle tends to stem from a lack of meaningful purpose.

What is it you're trying to accomplish? What actions are you wanting to take to bring whatever results you're looking at into your life? And this got me thinking a little bit, and it took me down kind of a lane of study, right?

Sometimes it does. And I landed on the Church welfare program launching back in 1936. And this is a statement from the First Presidency in 1936 regarding the Church welfare program that I think can shed some light a little bit for us on this idea of idling.

Our primary purpose was to set up, insofar as it might be possible, a system under which the curse of idleness would be done away with, the evils of a dole abolished, and independence, industry, thrift, and self-respect be once more established amongst our people. The aim of the Church is to help people help themselves. Wow, there's a lot inside of that.

And if you consider the timing of this, 1936, this is the Church establishing a welfare program in the middle of, well, I guess the tail end of the Great Depression around the world, right? It was a global Great Depression. And during that time, there were so many people that had lost purpose.

My friends, what drives you? What purpose keeps you in motion? That is a vital question for you and for me to spend some time asking ourselves.

One that I like to feel like keeps me up and rolling is sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I want to do that a lot. And I love the opportunities I have to share with friends, but I also love the opportunities to record and be evergreen sharing the gospel like this podcast.

Have purpose and let that purpose drive you and keep you in motion. By so doing, we will open ourselves to the blessings that can come to eat the bread and wear the garments of the laborer. That's all for today, my friends.

Lift up your hearts and rejoice. Cleave unto the covenants you have made and together we will be savory salt. For more information, visit us at www.fema.org.