I mean, they kept growing and multiplying, and who knew what would happen next?! ⁣

And so what did this king do? ⁣

“He said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: Come on, let us deal wisely with them… Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens.” (Exodus 1:9-11)⁣

The pharaoh was literally so afraid about the hypothetical military power this group of people could have in the future, that he did everything he could do to keep them oppressed. ⁣

Do you know what I can’t help but think about here? ⁣

“Unity and diversity are not opposites. We can achieve greater unity as we foster an atmosphere of inclusion and respect for diversity.” – Quentin L. Cook

One of the biggest messages our modern church leaders have been teaching over and over again is: ⁣

UNITY⁣

We can have cultural and social differences and still find unity when we realize that we are all identified as children of God, first! ⁣

Can you even imagine if the new king said:⁣

“Hey Israelites! You keep growing and growing, and we love you guys. What can we do to help you feel more included? Do you have any new ideas for how to make our kingdom even better?” ⁣

And yet, this king chose division and labeling people as “others”. ⁣

Which then led to him inflicting pain and burdens. ⁣

So how can you create unity where you live right now? ⁣

Who are you tempted to think about in divisive ways, and how can you turn that into love and unity instead?⁣

Kicking other people out or purposefully increasing their burdens just to keep another group comfortable isn’t the way the Savior worked, and it’s not how He wants us to work, either. ⁣

Unity looks like hard work. It takes effort. It requires people to get uncomfortable. ⁣

And the end result is so much more love, peace, and Christlike charity. ⁣

Unity is worth the effort.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Fear and oppression  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I spent all summer feeling very divided.

I made the pros and cons lists, I did my research, I talked with my friends at each school…

But I still felt divided. I could not decide.

Finally, I had a friend at one of the schools that started inviting me to lots of things.

She knew the school counselor and had me go in and meet with her to see what classes I might take.

My friend was involved with Student Council and had me attend one of their summer planning meetings. (They even offered me the role of class secretary because the person who had won the election had dropped out!)

She told me about the teachers, the traditions, the rallies…

Guess which school I ended up choosing?

The one that my friend had pretty much immersed me in!

When Hosea was teaching about the wicked people in the land, he described them by saying: “their heart is divided”. (Hosea 10:2)

Do you feel like your heart is divided right now?

Do you have a part of it for the Lord, but also part of it on something else that keeps taking you away from Him?

I’ll give you the same advice I ended up doing that summer in high school:

Give yourself more experiences with the one you WANT to choose.

Talk about Jesus with your loved ones even more. Read even more about Him. Listen to other people talking about Him. Watch shows that promote the things that He taught.

Being divided is tough when you don’t know which way to go.

But if you KNOW which way you WANT to want, and your heart is still divided…

Give your heart all the evidence it can take to sway it to the Lord.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Give your divided heart evidence  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.