Honestly Tough Questions

As you have learned if you have read any other posts in this blog, I have a lot of questions that roll around in my mind. Often times it is difficult for me to find real answers to some of my questions. One of my questions has been about the people who seem to have gotten the “necessary evil” roles. For example, what would this world be like without a Satan? Or a Judas to betray Jesus?

To me, these two roles seemed very necessary. How could Jesus be truly as good, or at least how would we know he was so good, unless he had an evil counterpart? And how could Jesus atone for us unless someone had betrayed him, like Judas? I’ve thought about their fate, and to me it just didn’t seem fair that these extremely evil roles were seemingly needed in order to bring about the rest of the good in God’s plan. Why, then, would the people that filled those roles be so severely punished?

I still don’t have a full answer to those questions, but my mind has been put more at ease by understanding the greater picture of God’s plan of happiness for us. Our Heavenly Father loves us, and so he has given each of us the gift of agency, or the ability to chose for ourselves how we will act. That means that none of us are damned nor saved without our consent. When you look at God’s plan from an eternal perspective, it seems as if evil is a force somewhat similar to gravity. It is eternal in its realm and has no beginning or end. Neither does good in its realm. We live in a world that has both good and evil in it. That means that both of those forces will work to achieve their ends. We know that good is a stronger force and will always win. This seems like a simple principle, but it helps when thinking about the roles of Satan and Judas. We would be tempted by evil without Satan, because evil would still exist. And the Pharisees and Sadducees would have found a way to capture Jesus and crucify him without Judas.

It is important to note that I am simply sharing my own thoughts and conclusions based on my current knowledge and these thoughts are in no way conclusive. My overall point is that we all have tough questions that seem to negate things we have already learned. In this case, I have always known that Heavenly Father is kind and loving and wants his children to succeed. However, I have seen some things that make me question how this can be so. Instead of throwing away everything that I have been taught and felt personally about God, I have learned to be patient, to study the scriptures, and to listen to the Spirit teach me how good and evil can exist at the same time. This is one example of a hard question with an answer that is beautifully simple and entirely supports everything I know to be true about my Heavenly Father. I have found peace and pure happiness in my life by exploring my questions and holding fast to the things I know to be true in my heart, and more than anything this peace and happiness is proof to me that God wants me to understand him and to not be afraid or easily shaken by things that I do not understand.

The Parable of the Talents

This week I learned to be grateful for the things that Heavenly Father does not give me. In class we studied the parable of the talents.

Generally, the story goes as follows. There were three servants to a rich man. He gave each of these men an asset to care for while he was away on other business. He gave one five of these assets, one two, and the final servant received one. While the master was gone, the first two servants used their assets to create more, always planning on returning both the principal and the interest to the master. The third was paralyzed by fear of his responsibility, and decided to only hide his asset.

When the master returned, the three servants gave a report of their stewardship over these assets. The first had doubled his assets, now having ten talents instead of five. The second servant did likewise, now having four instead of two. The master was pleased with the dedication and planning of the first two servants, and rewarded them both with more than they had been previously entrusted. The third servant, however, brought forth only the asset that he had originally been given. The master asked him why he hadn’t done anything with the talent that he had been given. The servant told his master that he knew his master to be a tough and ambitious man, and had thought it best to only give his master the original principle safe, rather than to risk anything else. He was punished by having his asset taken away from him and given to the first servant.

So, there are a lot of things we can learn from this story. One that I liked is that we are limiting our application of the story if we only think of the talents as literal talents and abilities. While this is a really good application, I have learned a lot more by replacing “talent” with the word “asset”. This can include our educational opportunities, employment, and even our children! What a broader application!

Finally, there was one lesson that really hit me while my professor was teaching. We create our own God, sometimes regardless of who He truly is, and then we create a world that fits that god. For example, if you asked the first two servants about the characteristics of the master, they would say that he was very fair and generous, and that he had given them great opportunities. The third would probably say that the master was tough and mean and took things that didn’t belong to him. Each was rewarded by the “master” they had created in their minds, and were rewarded by that master. 

So shall it be at the last day. If we believe that God is whimsical, unknowable, or punishing, we may find ourselves in a life that seems to have little direction, with no anchor and much sorrow. If we believe in a God that knows us, is guiding everything in our lives, and wants us to be successful, we will feel greater peace and order in our lives as we try and trace things back to Him. These reactions are completely separated from what actually happens to us or who God really is, just like even though the master in the story was a person with an actual character, the servants could have completely different perceptions of him. Our reactions to our lives have everything to do with choosing to accept Him or not, and whether to accept the talents (assets) He gives us. Or not.

Too Careful and Troubled?

Three of my favorite people in the New Testament are Mary, Martha and Jesus. Not in that order. Anyways, we meet them all together in Luke chapter 10. 

They seem to be good friends with Jesus. Martha invites him to her house, where Mary lives also. Jesus has been traveling a lot and must have been tired. Martha starts to make food for him and is busy in the kitchen. Meanwhile, Mary sits at Jesus’ feet and listens to Jesus talk. Martha gets annoyed that she has to do all the work instead of having Mary help her quickly so that they could both listen to Jesus. She asks the Master to have her sister Mary help her, and Jesus takes a moment to teach us all through these two wonderful women.

When the average Christian is asked who these two women are, the typical response is that Mary is the sister that knows what’s important and listens to Jesus, and that Martha, although she means well in trying to serve Jesus, is missing the point in life because she doesn’t stop to listen to him. Jesus himself seems to make this point when he says:

“Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42)

I have always assumed that Martha was missing the point by being so busy. What bothered me more is that I identify a lot more with Martha than Mary, and I know a lot of other people that do too. Does that mean that I and others like Martha are typically missing the point?? That doesn’t seem right… service is supposed to be a good thing right?

Luckily, another interpretation of this story was brought to my attention this week that put me more at ease. My professor said to think about these two women in opposite roles. What if Mary had been annoyed with Martha for clanking around in the kitchen, and asked Jesus to make her sit down or at least be quiet so they could focus on their conversation. Is it possible that Jesus would have simply said “Mary, Mary, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Martha hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her”?

This flip in the situation brought so much relief to me. First of all, it means that because I identify with Martha more, I am not inherently busy with the wrong things.

Second of all, the “problem” with Martha here is that she is trying to make her sister more like herself. Our goal should never be to have others conform to our strengths; it should always be to point them to Christ.

The third lesson, and my favorite, is that Jesus is always on the defensive. He never sides with those who point fingers. With the woman caught in adultery, the woman at the well, and with Mary, Jesus is quick to protect the one in the “line of fire”, regardless of actual fault. It is never our place to judge, only to be patient and to help people come closer to Christ through loving example, not accusation.