I had a curious experience last week. I have a stepbrother who lives many hundreds of miles away from where I do, but we speak on the telephone every now and then. There was a time when I lived abroad, so on a day to day basis he knew my father better than I did.
Every now and then Michael tells me stories about my father’s humour, wisdom, characteristics or achievements, and especially his kindness. Many of them are funny and all have an affection in them. I love the connection, because my father has been gone over twenty years now, and I miss him. I know hardly anyone else who recalls him as I do. I see my own brother several times a week, but he doesn’t go in for discussing memories very much. Some people do, others prefer to keep them within their own minds. Perhaps it is too emotional?
Why I mention this at all is because last week Michael told me something about my father’s achievements that I did not know. He let it slip in conversation as if he thought I was aware of it.
I admit, I was extraordinarily impressed. My father had held a very great responsibility I had no idea of – as well as several I did know. When I thought of the burden of it, the brilliance, not only intellectually, but the moral trust, I began to wonder if I might have inherited more possibilities for achievement than I had appreciated before. In fact am I really doing all I could?
Sometimes I think I am, that I work hard enough, attempt more new and difficult things, learn new skills, give it my best shot. But is that true, or am I only running half as fast as I could do, if I gave it all I have? Am I too easily satisfied – or even too easily beaten?
A long time ago I worked for a company that fined its employees who arrived late. It was a pretty hefty fine amounting to 0.01% of their salary for each minute overdue! Twenty minutes late and you lost one tenth of your week’s money. And they did not give it and expect you to pay it back – you just didn’t get it in the first place.
They only ever had to exercise that punishment once! After that everyone found that they could actually be on time – if it mattered to them. And it did. It doesn’t take many minutes late to wipe out half your pay.
So if I tell myself that I am doing my best – am I being strictly honest? Certainly I am not ALL the time. I get tired, discouraged, impatient, stupid now and then. But at least most of the time, am I trying hard enough? If I knew how much depended on it, would I suddenly find that I really could do a lot better?
Punctuality is one thing, and it does matter. Being late implies that your time is worth more than everybody else’s. How arrogant and selfish is that? Lord, you be there at ten o’clock – I’ll turn up when I get around to it.
But of course there are many other things more important. Could I have made the effort to speak to that person I don’t like a lot? No – I’m tired and busy and they won’t care anyway.
If I thought Christ was watching me, to see if I would ‘pass by on the other side’, or help someone fallen into unhappiness or injury of some kind, then would I do it? You bet I would! And be grateful for the opportunity.
Then yes, I certainly could do better!
Could I refrain from the funny remark that’s also cruel? If the victim were someone I loved, of course I could.
Do I like it when people leap to judge me, without knowing the whole story? I hate it! It’s cruel and in a sense dishonest. Can I stop doing it myself? Of course I can – if I want to enough.
Can I study the things I should? Of course I can get up fifteen minutes earlier, or give up doing something I enjoy, but is not necessary. Once a week? Of course I can.
It goes on and on like that. Maybe all small things in the main. Just not making excuses, not letting the idle word slip if it’s unkind, making the extra effort to listen to someone I don’t particularly enjoy speaking to, or who may never listen to me. Could I be the one to make the first move? Could I be the one to bury the grudge, forget the slight?
Would I if I knew the Lord were watching? You bet I would. Doesn’t that prove I could.
If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing properly. That doesn’t mean spend hours getting one job perfect, and missing out on all the others. It doesn’t mean getting obsessive and judging yourself harshly – and it certainly doesn’t mean judging everyone else on what you imagine they could do.
It means doing the best you can, today – now. Acknowledging that you aren’t going to get everything right. God forgives sins, never mind mere errors. We must forgive them in others, and also in ourselves. But not trying is a misunderstanding that we will pay for not by being punished but by being unable to accept all the blessings our Father would give us if we had learned how to hold them.
We are promised eternity with those we love the most – IF we make the Celestial Kingdom. And that means if we do our best, whatever that best may be. If you are given one talent, you must return two. But if you are given five then you must return ten. Talents may be all kinds of things, patience, a warm smile, the will to try again when we have failed, to keep faith when all seems dark. It doesn’t have to be brilliance, just any kind of light in the darkness.
Are we who are of the Church not given great and wonderful knowledge, and told over and over again where we can find assurance that it is true? And then also the path towards more knowledge, all the days of our lives? In one way that is scores of ‘talents’.
Are we, am I, doing all that is possible to use that immense gift that is given to so few, among all the billions on earth, not to mention all those who lived and died in times and places where they had no such chance?
I don’t know how many ‘talents’ I have been given. It may be more than I imagine, or it may be less. Perhaps I am overrating myself? But I do know who to ask, with the certainty of an answer, even if it comes step by step, grace by grace.
There are many wonderful things about asking for and receiving a priesthood blessing. One is the trust you show in the power of the priesthood, another is the opportunity you give the priesthood holder to exercise his calling, a third is the guidance, comfort and healing that may be received.
A fourth is that whatever is given you, you know for certain from whom it came, and can give thanks for it with a whole heart.
Another, I think not always appreciated, is that it gives the Lord an opportunity to tell you, in simple and unmistakable words, answers to questions you may not even have thought of asking.
Not many of us are going to be stopped by angels and given direct commands to do a certain thing – or in many cases to refrain from doing it. But a blessing sought in faith can come to the same thing.
‘If any man lack wisdom’ – we all know the rest. It is also true if we lack courage or insight, if we lack anything we need in order to find what callings we are given to do good, what talents we might possess or acquire, then we know who to ask.
Will there ever be anything more terrible than to face our Father at the appointed time, and know that we could have done so much better? We could have had ‘heaven’ and all its everlasting joy, its wisdom and beauty, laughter and friendship, its endless learning and creating, and above all its love – but we didn’t really do our best? We let second best be good enough.
The Lord does not expect miracles from us. He will supply them. He just wants us to try – really try!
There is no point at which we say – okay, I’ve arrived, I know it all. If it seems easy, then we aren’t stretching. Growth is forever! What is good enough for today is NOT good enough for next week.
The best we can do is good enough for eternity, and will get better all the time – for ever.
Don’t judge others, don’t judge yourself – just try. The reward is infinite. Are we not the most blessed of people in that at quiet moments, on our knees, we know that?
May we discover the best in all of us.