Walking In Darkness:
A Pragmatists Guide to Living with Faith
The pragmatists approach to a practical world is dominated by the desire to understand the consequences of actions and to weigh the practical benefits of any specified course of action. The pragmatist will often consciously or unconsciously conduct a cost benefit analysis to determine the most practical way to conduct ones life. Foremost in his/her mind is the need to know the end from the beginning in order to conduct such an analysis and achieve a determination that seems most prudent based on the facts and experiences at hand.
It would appear that approaching any life experience based on faith would be at odds with the pragmatist. The essential component of faith is action based not on knowledge but on a belief that the end result will be the most desirable outcome. The inability to conduct a traditional analysis of ones life when walking with faith violates the pragmatists need for certainty and an understanding of the whole path.
God created all men in his own image1. God is the creator and author of our mortal bodies and spiritual destiny. Our very existence requires that we have faith in our pre-mortal existence and that God has a plan for us to achieve exaltation and eternal life. In order for the pragmatist to come to terms with living day to day life with faith, he must accept our Heavenly Father’s Plan of Salvation as the ultimate guiding force that leads to eternal consequences. He must accept that as one of God’s creations his mortal mind is in the image of God but without the infinite knowledge of God. The pursuit of knowledge or intelligence is the glory of God and will remain with us eternally2. It is one of the purposes for our earthly existence. In the eternal sense a pragmatic view of our existence will be most likely based on the infinite intelligence we can gain. That journey begins in this life.
The pragmatists’ natural tendency is to plan out every detail of our lives. We can only know if we will be successful in reaching our destination if we have carefully evaluated each step of the way and are confident in our ability to take each step and arrive safely at our destination. When we plan a trip each detail is known from the beginning. We know what day we will leave and how far we will travel each day. We have a reservation waiting for us at each day’s destination. We know what will happen each day of the trip. We know what sights or attractions will be seen and how much time and cost is involved in each one.
We also know that in order to avoid undesirable consequences we must obey the laws that exist or take the necessary precautions. A reservation will ensure that we have a place to stay when we arrive. Careful maintenance of the car prior to departure will help ensure a trip free from vehicle problems. Understanding the laws or customs of a foreign location will free us from undesirable consequences.
Through our experience we know that the diligence paid to these details will bring the desired results. We have learned how to successfully rent a hotel room or arrive at the airport in enough time to catch a flight. We have also learned about diligence in all aspects of our lives. We know that watering and caring for the flower garden will result in a beautiful garden with flowers to brighten our surroundings. We know how to plan and prepare a great feast where family and friends can enjoy each others company without worry and concern about the food. We can cite numerous examples in our lives where diligence and careful attention to detail brings the desired results.
But even the pragmatist must acknowledge that not all consequences can be foreseen and that there are times when even the most carefully laid plans can go awry. A flight is cancelled because of airplane mechanical problems. A beautiful garden is wiped out by a furious storm. Or the feast is interrupted by a loss of electricity which is always assumed to be present. Even the most carefully made plans can be ruined by events beyond our control and beyond our ability (or the practicality!) of making contingent plans. The pragmatist is usually able to come to terms with these problems because of the nature of the unintended event. The problem arises when plans don’t bring about the intended results and the cause is unknown. The most frustrating delays are those that happen with no explanation. Remember the last time you made an appointment with a doctor, dentist, or someone else and the time for the appointment came and went with you sitting quietly in the waiting room with no idea when you would be seen?
In the gospel of Jesus Christ we are also taught that diligence will bring a desired reward. In the gospel we usually refer to diligence as obedience and reward as blessing. We are taught that obedience to certain laws brings a desired blessing3. There are innumerable examples throughout the scriptures where we are promised certain blessings for obedience to certain commandments. Honoring our parents, paying an honest tithe, and following the Word of Wisdom are just a few. But there are also times when living the Gospel that our diligence or obedience does not seem to bring the desired result.
I have been a faithful tithe payer my whole life. I have experienced the blessings that come from paying a full tithe. I have lived in a house for 15 years and never replaced the carpet when others have replaced theirs at least once and sometimes many times. Without discounting the great care and attention that my wife gives to our home, I also believe it to be a blessing of paying our tithing. I have also been able to receive money from unexpected sources and at unexpected times when we had a great need. It would seem that faithfully paying tithing would always result in the promised blessings according to our needs. But unexpected economic consequences can spoil our plans. I am experiencing unemployment due to economic and regulatory consequences beyond my control. My best laid plan of paying an honest tithe so I would always be provided for financially seems to have gone awry. Why are the blessings of tithing being withheld at this time? Not only am I not able to pay the normal day to day expenses; I am also experiencing a number of unexpected expenses. Many things that I own are breaking down and need repair. Like sitting in the doctor’s office, I expect that some time I will be seen or receive the promised blessings but right now that is unknown.
This is a crucial point for the pragmatist learning to live with faith. Because the expected blessing did not result from careful obedience does not mean that the obedience was not necessary or unrewarded. The tendency is to believe that if we did not receive what we expected or anticipated that somehow we did something wrong or that the obedience really does not result in blessing. Even worse we may believe that some are blessed for their obedience but that we somehow don’t qualify. When the transmission failed on my fairly new car my initial reaction was to become angry because the expected blessings did not occur when I felt they were needed and most deserved. Doubt and disbelieve that arise from following God’s commands are a tool of Satan and are intended to stop us from further obedience. The natural man wants to play into this deception and believe that God had forgotten or ignored him. Remember that the natural man is an enemy to God and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, unless he 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 him4. The essence of living with faith is to accept the unknown time table of the Father. This includes namely submissiveness, humility, patience, and love.
The pragmatist must learn to humbly submit to all things which the Lord sees fit. Being submissive is easier when the results are known and understood. Even in the extreme cases of submitting to invasive and dangerous medical treatments is tolerable with the knowledge and understanding that the end results will be worth the pain and suffering. Submitting to the Lord is often times required without the benefit of such knowledge and understanding. Remember, our mortal minds are on a journey to gather this intelligence. If we will stop and feel ourselves humble before the Lord, we will gain the strength to submit in all things. Feeling humble means that, above all else, our desire is to do the will of the Lord.
Time management experts have long espoused to benefits of careful time allocation. Instead of letting the events of the day determine your course of action, you plan and allocate time from the beginning. These ideals resonate well with the pragmatist. Instead of letting email interrupt you when it comes in, you will allocate time specifically for responding to email. You may even set aside a specific time to return phone calls. You know that there are certain activities that are not urgent in nature but are of extreme importance. Consistently setting aside these activities can have disastrous long-term effects. You will allocate time for these in your day so they don’t get neglected. But even the most ardent devotee of time management will acknowledge that emergencies arise and unforeseen events will intrude on the day. They will even go so far as to allocate “empty” time when they can address such issues or to move other activities into this slot. We can expand these concepts of allocation to include larger chunks of our lives. Recognizing that we may need “empty” time in our life to deal with disasters or unforeseen events will assist us in humbly submitting to whatever the Lord sees fit.
Patience will be difficult as we see our life crumbling around us. After having decided to submit ourselves to the will of the Lord, we have to remember that we are submitting on His time table and not ours. Patience will require that we maintain our humility and continue in love. Love is the product of looking beyond ourselves and doing the Lords work with others.
Service many times results when we allow ourselves to displace our own cares and concerns. There are of course planned acts of service for which we can be richly rewarded. These acts fit easily within our paradigm for life because they are planned, executed, and completed with our pre-conceived expectations. As the pragmatist learns to perform spontaneous and random acts of kindness, he will benefit from forgetting about his own cares and concerns and worrying about the welfare of another. Continuing down this path will lead to the development of a greater amount of love. In fact, President Thomas S. Monson taught “you can never love the Lord until you serve Him by serving His people5.
When we love other people, we are seeing them as children of our Heavenly Father. We are seeing them as He sees them. As we grow closer to other people, we are also growing closer to our Heavenly Father and becoming more like Him. Our faith will increase and we will know that we can trust in our Heavenly Father’s plan.
Now the pragmatist has come full circle. Instead of fearing the unknown and having the inability to proceed down darkened paths, our faith and trust in the Lord allows us to see the real end to our journey. The real end is the faith and confidence that the Lord has a plan for us. The real end is knowing that we are children of our Heavenly Father and that he loves each one of us more than we can possibly imagine. The real end is knowing that when we do what the Lord says he is bound to provide the promised blessings6. The real end is knowing that as we humbly submit to the time table of the Lord, we can have all that He has7.
So now the pragmatist can know the end from the beginning. But he can only know in an eternal and spiritual sense. As he loves others and develops faith in the Lord Jesus Christ his understanding will increase, his knowledge will expand, and he will be able to walk in darkness with the full faith, trust, and confidence that the Lord will not lead astray but will in the end do all that He has promised.
Notes:
1. Genesis 1:26-27
2. See D&C 93:36 and D&C 130:18-19
3. D&C 130:20-21
4. Mosiah 3:19
5. Thomas S. Monson, “Great Expectations” (Church Educational System fireside for young adults, Jan. 11, 2009), www.ldsces.org
6. D&C 82:10
7. D&C 84:38
No comments:
Post a Comment