Yesterday, we hopped in the car for an hour-long drive, and as soon as we got on the freeway, Quin asked for some juice.
I told her that we didn’t have any juice in the car, but that she could have some water.
She started getting upset and asked for juice again.
I offered her the water again, and she reluctantly took it.
And then she asked for juice again.
When I told her that we didn’t have any in the car, she started crying.
“I just want some juice!”
She is two years old, and this was a completely developmentally appropriate conversation.
(At least, back me up if you have also tried to raise a two-year-old ????.)
She doesn’t have emotional maturity yet to understand that she can’t have juice whenever she wants it OR how to appropriately deal with frustration when she can’t satisfy her desire.
Have you ever thought about the concept of SPIRITUAL maturity?
Jesus Christ commands us to “be ye therefore perfect”.
I’ve heard quite a few words that people like to substitute for “perfect”, since we know we will not and cannot achieve perfection in this life.
But one of my BYU religious professors told us his version of a translation for “perfect” that has always resonated with me:
Be ye therefore SPIRITUALLY MATURE.
We can’t get to “perfection”. But we CAN see ourselves sliding farther and farther on the sliding scale of spiritual maturity.
Are we doing what we are supposed to do without needing to be checked in on?
Do we nitpick commandments and find “loopholes”?
Do we act on our own accord to do good?
Do we understand that rewards may be delayed?
We all start out as emotional toddlers who need constant, constant, CONSTANT direction, reassurance, and correction.
But our loving Savior wants us to develop spiritual maturity.
As you study the beatitudes and other wise counsel straight from our Savior this week, I challenge you to look at each commandment on a sliding scale and ask yourself:
How can I be more spiritually mature in fulfilling this commandment?
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black
2 Responses
Actually Cali the Lord does expect that we can become “perfect” in this world or he would not have made the statement. If you read the context of Matt 5: 43-48 you will realize it is talking about the divine attribute of “love” which we are to perfect ourselves in, to love our enemies,…. I created a short essay that talks about that, its called “Pure Religion” and it is on a website I created http://www.MarriageAndPolygamy.com and you can download it if you scroll down to the bottom. God bless you in your journey! Shalom
Hi! I love that there are so many different lessons to learn from the scriptures based off of different interpretations. Being perfect in specific areas, such as love toward all, is certainly achievable, but all-over perfection isn’t quite available. I love these talks from Pres Nelson and Elder Holland that talk about this concept – specifically debunking that we need to shoot for perfection in all things, and instead offering other interpretations of this verse’s intent, which is what I based my remarks off of. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2017/10/be-ye-therefore-perfect-eventually?lang=eng https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1995/10/perfection-pending?lang=eng