We need unity, but not just unity in anything. We need unity in the right things, the things that bring prosperity, happiness, and success. Ben Carson rose out of poverty because he did those things that transform one out of poverty. People are not bound by their circumstances. We can become better and rise above our circumstances. To do so, we have to follow the principles that lead to where we want to be and that transform us into who we want to become. We need to learn the laws of success in whatever field we desire to excel or improve, and follow those laws. This is true for happiness. This is true for good relationships. This is true for providing for one’s self and one’s family. Don’t blame others. Instead, search for correct principles and strive to live them and teach them to others.
Entering the land of Canaan and fighting the Giants may have seemed to the Israelites akin to being asked to jump off a cliff. Sacrificing his son Isaac may have seemed to Abraham worse than jumping off a cliff. To Laman and Lemuel, setting sail into the ocean on a ship built by Nephi may have at first seemed like certain death. Sariah believed that her sons had died and that she and her husband would perish because they followed what her husband said were commandments from the Lord. What did that visionary man know anyway? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were forced into a fiery furnace. They trusted that God would deliver them, but even if he did not deliver them from the flames they were determined to obey Him. Would God ever ask us to do something that to us seems foolish or dangerous or that might lead to persecution or death? Yes. Because His ways are not our ways and He sees a greater picture.
External elements act upon a rock. If it rains, the rock sits there. If the driving winds come, the rock sits there. If you pick it up and set it somewhere else, that is where it will remain until forces outside it move it somewhere else. Don’t be a rock. Choose how you will respond to what happens outside you. Look for solutions. Enlist the help of others. Choose. Don’t be a rock.
(Photo credit: Wolfgang Hasselmann on Unsplash)