I’m not going to lie.
Matthew 13:12 confused me at first when I read it.
Does this seem fair?!
“For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath”.
Those that have more are given more?
And those that have less lose what they have?
It really does not seem fair or kind or loving.
But as I continued studying it, I realized that I think these are natural consequences.
When we “have more” faith,
more of the spirit’s presence in our lives,
more Christlike attributes,
or more gospel study…
We naturally “get more.”
We get more out of our study of parables,
more opportunities to serve,
more spiritual promptings,
and more familiar with the scriptures.
And the opposite is naturally true too.
If we don’t have faith, don’t make time to study the scriptures, or don’t keep the commandments to have the spirit with us…
Then we naturally lose opportunities to serve, lose spiritual promptings, and lose gospel knowledge.
These blessings and knowledge aren’t just being given to us or taken away from us by supreme beings who want to reward and punish us for fun.
These blessings and knowledge are naturally given or taken away based on our choices and actions.
I think it actually makes perfect sense!
In fact, Joseph Smith’s translation of this verse reads:
“For whosoever RECEIVETH, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance; but whosoever CONTINUETH NOT TO RECEIVE, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.” (Matthew 13:12, JST)
We decide if we receive or not.
So if we have more, we get more.
What are you trying to “have more” of today?
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black
