45And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
46Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—
47But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.
Charity
Tom, was a young man who was a little rough around the edges, to put it mildly. He wanted so badly to be liked and accepted and yet everyone could not understand him. He was a nerd. No matter how you slice it the kid was awkward. Everything he did had to be followed up with because even his best work left much to be desired. There was no one who wanted to work with him. If his name was tied to theirs then it would be social suicide.
Ben moved in next door to Tom. Ben could see that what Tom really needed was a friend. Sure he was a little rough and sure he was awkward. Overall he was a nice guy that had feelings too. So Ben decided to be his friend.
At first Ben felt like he had bit off more than he could chew. There was no way that he could get the Tom to stop acting like ….. well, Tom. He was socially retarded and could not appreciate the help others were trying to provide.
Ben kept at it. Many asked him why he kept trying to get Tom to do certain things. Why he didn’t allow Tom to bother him. His answer came always quick and clear. “He’s my Brother.” people would shake their heads an walk away.
Even when it is hard we have to persevere through the hard times to reap the fruits of a lesson learned. Sometimes the lesson may never be learned. In this case our backs should never be turned from those we are striving to serve. What if the whole world had the attitude of, “he’s my brother.” The world would be a much better place. We should be willing to work hard to attain such an attitude. How important it is for us to be willing to suffer all we have to invite others into our circle, put an arm around them and help them feel good.
Throughout this process of learning and working together we need to remember that our attitudes, good attitudes go a long way. Seek the good in everyone and everything. People are more apt to try your way of thinking when they feel loved. Being kind is a fruit of expressing charity.
Don’t worry about what others are doing. Worry about yourself. (Isn’t that what your Mom used to say.) Don’t worry about what you don’t have. Focus on your talents and make them better. To many people focus on the things that are beyond their control. They get offended and find that they are off that course that leads back home. What you are doing and the path you are walking is what makes us unique.
Focusing on what you are doing, does not mean to build yourself up. It does not mean to be prideful. I mean to have your focus on centering your life around the Savior.
Seek the good things. It is amazing how your perspective changes when you are looking for the good in everything. Surrounding yourself with good things helps you to avoid even the appearance of evil.
We have to live in this world. We do not have to participate in everything that it has to offer. Set a course and plough through. Seek the guidance of the spirit and you will be blessed with happiness, joy and a peace to see your way through the trials that life throws at you.
Evil, is just part of living at this very special time in history. Coming to know Christ and feeling his love, helps you know the way to go. That special guidance will help you avoid evil. We must be able to identify evil. Recognize the very cunning enticing of the evil one. Then, run the opposite way!
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