Lesson 7: ~Chapter 5~ Choose to Live in Charity And 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; wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Moroni 7:51 Judge righteous judgment. For with what judgment ye shall judge, ye shall be judged Matthew 7:2-3
Lesson 7 Meditation Thoughts Loving Each Other This is the motto we all would obey, We will all love one another; Happy we sing and are glad all the day, When we can serve one another. Refrain: Loving each other, How pleasant to cherish a brother; Serving each other, The Savior looks on us with joy. Thus we will labor and thus we will play, Trying to help one another; Driving the sorrows of others away, Bringing sweet peace to each other. Refrain Let us, like Jesus, be thoughtful and kind, Striving to please one another; Here, as in heaven, we will be of one mind, Everyone loving the other. Refrain Loving Each Other #508 HYMNS OF THE RESTORATION, Copyright 1984, 11 th Printing, 2008, RESTORATION HYMN SOCIETY, INC., Napoleon, Missouri. 2
Lesson 7 Choose to Live in Charity ~Chapter 5~ Moroni 7:5: And 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; wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Before we begin, please refer to page 5 in your lesson titled Put Off & Put On follow the instructions at the top of that page. What we do influences others likewise what others do influences us. When someone is watching, we are more likely to pick a shirt up off the floor that we accidently knocked off of a rack in a clothing store, or return a shopping cart to its proper location after we are done with it. Science actually has a term for this (Observer Effect) but we simply call it being Christ-like. Of course, we should always live like someone is watching because HE is watching and if we live our lives like Him, we will live a life of charity. As we consider the lesson theme and our need to become like Jesus, let us also consider His aversion to rash judgment. Although He was the author of the law, when challenged to judge the woman caught in adultery (John 8: 3-11) He chose NOT to prosecute her to the full extent of the power and authority He had within Him. Further, He chose NOT to judge her EVEN to the full extent of the law. In Matthew 7: 2-3, Jesus taught, Judge not unrighteously that ye be not judged; but judge righteous judgment for with what judgment ye shall judge, ye shall be judged. Our natural emotions are enemies to charity and righteous judgments. In an odd sort of way, this is especially true as we grow closer to God. Apostle Arthur Oakman once commented on this when he said we no more get a little bit of righteousness when we begin looking around and can't understand why others haven t come up to our level. Unfortunately, this seems to be especially true when dealing with blood relatives and members of our church family. We naturally expect more of them than we do of others in the world...but is that a righteous judgment, born of one not easily provoked, but out of long suffering? Or do we rush to judgment because "they know better." Next time we are faced with a situation - as great as someone enmeshed in sin, or a comment from a child or husband that makes us see RED, pray we remember the admonition of Moroni, in our theme scripture printed above, to not be easily provoked, to think no evil (since we sometimes jump directly to the worst case scenario), and have that long suffering charity. Only through these steps can we judge righteously, and be the Christ-like mothers, wives, and sisters we are called to be. This is foundational in establishing and maintaining our personal relationships both within and without the family. 3
Lesson 7 Some examples of actions that are NOT Christ-like include passing judgment without asking questions or seeking to understand a situation from all sides. This usually leads to uninformed choices and is detrimental to developing strong relationships. We must also be quick to forgive and help our memories to become short to others mistakes rather than allowing a recent wrong act to impair our judgment and cast a disparaging shadow over what otherwise may be years of consistent, quality service by a brother or sister. George Bernard Shaw once said, My tailor is the only wise man I know. He measures me anew each time he sees me. If we can become more like Mr. Shaw s tailor, we will also become more Christ-like. Continue the Lesson by reading the following copied text of Chapter 5 Improving Personal Relationships from the book Choose Life by J.C. Stuart. Think upon and answer the questions that are at the end of the chapter. As you read, record the answers below and your reflections on Put Off & Put On page 5; remember to include a PLAN OF ACTION. 1 2. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 4
Lesson 7 Put Off & Put On ~ Christ is the Key Mosiah 1:119-120: For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been, from the fall of Adam, and will be, for ever and ever; But if he yields to [chooses to obey] the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man, and becometh a saint, through the atonement of Christ, the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father. DO THIS: As you read your lesson, identify [write down] those things that do not allow the enticings of the Holy Spirit to dwell in you. PUT OFF those habits of THE NATURAL MAN and PUT ON or yield to [obey] the enticings of the Holy Spirit, the attributes that becometh a saint [see scripture above]. Make a PLAN OF ACTION to become THE SPIRITUAL MAN IN CHRIST. THE NATURAL MAN Choose the Enticings of Holy Spirit THE SPIRITUAL MAN PUT OFF PUT ON PLAN OF ACTION 5
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