Choose

2 Nephi 2

v. 28  "And now, my son, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of the Holy Spirit."  (emphasis added)

I like the sequence of that verse.  Look to Christ.  See what He did during his life and ministry.  He set the example.  Learn of Him.  Then hearken to His commandments.  Listen to the counsel He gave during His ministry.  Let His teachings sink into your heart.  And then choose.  Choose to follow Him.  Choose to obey.

How interesting that merely three days into this experiment, I have come upon an opportunity to apply what I'm learning.  We had a minor incident in the neighborhood.  You know, the kind that neighborhoods always have.  And it's not the first time we've had a problem with this particular family.  I feel perfectly justified in my emotions towards them.  The little boy was mean.  I don't like the parents.  I don't like the way they handled things the last time, and I don't like how it's being handled now.  Surely, I can puff my chest out in righteous indignation and feel superior.  Seriously, I'm that sure I'm right about all this.

And yet... I know by how I'm feeling that I'm not handling it right.  I'm not being a peacemaker.  I'm not "loving [my] neighbor."  I'm not forgiving seventy times seven.  I'm certainly not loving my enemies.

There are things I can do immediately that will soothe hurt feelings just a little bit, just enough to not let this boil over into the entire neighborhood.  But I know that, for this experiment to work, I need to go beyond that.  I need to learn to forgive and to change the way I feel about them.  I need to put into practice the most basic of Christ's teachings.

Ah, humility.  It's a hard thing to learn, isn't it?