With All Thy Getting...

One of my favorite scriptures reads, "With all thy getting, get understanding." Every day of my life I try to get more understanding of not only the world around me and myself, but also of the things of God & His truths. My life has been blessed as I have been able to find in degrees greater understanding in all of these areas.

One bit of understanding that has helped me has been the truth that I live by to build in all I do and to never tear down. In all of our conversations we should, ideally, build each other up either through kindness, expressions of faith, or of genuine goodwill towards one another. At the very least, our conversations should never lead to being critical, judgemental or scornful of those we know and associate with. Rather than tear down, we should build up.

The movies we watch or the music we listen to at the very least should not make us less of a human for participating in them. We should emerge just as human as we were before and ideally, we should emerge better. We should emerge as people determined to be a little better and a little kinder to those around us - in an ideal world.

Our work should build us up. Our thoughts should build us up. Our words show the inner workings of the workmanship of our hearts. Our lives should build up others. I wish to be a master builder - just like the Carpenter's Son.

A poem expressed this bit of understanding in this way:

"I watched them tearing a building down,
A gang of men in a busy town.
With a ho-heave-ho and a lusty yell,
They swung the beams and the side walls fell.
I asked the foreman, “Are these men skilled,
The kind you’d hire were you to build?”
He laughed and said, “Why, no indeed!
Just common laborers are all I need.
They can easily wreck in a day or two
What builders have taken years to do. “
And I thought to myself as I went my way:
“What part in the game of life do I play?
Am I a builder who works with care,
measuring life by the rule and square?
Am I shaping my deeds to a well-made plan,
patiently doing the best I can?
Or am I a wrecker who walks the town,
Content with the labor of tearing down?”

That is one of my favorite poems. Douglas L. Callister said, "Refinement in speech is more than polished elocution. It results from purity of thought and sincerity of expression.... Refinement in speech is reflected not only in our choice of words but also in the things we talk about. There are those who always speak of themselves, and they are either insecure or proud. There are those who always speak of others. They are usually very boring. There are those who speak of stirring ideas, compelling books, and inspiring doctrine. These are the few who make their mark in this world.

"The subjects discussed in heaven are not trifling or mundane. They are sublime beyond our most extended imagination. We will feel at home there if we are rehearsed on this earth in conversing about the refined and noble, clothing our expressions in well-measured words."

It is my hope to be a builder, not content with tearing down but ever seeking to build up others by the gift of love & kindness behind the words and actions people see and hear from me. For me, this is priceless understanding. Thank you for reading - I hope in this short read, you were inspired to be the better you.