Obedience to the Unenforceable

A few years ago, I thought my life had hit rock bottom. Even though I knew I was capable of performing my job, I was struggling at work. For some reason, nothing seemed to go right. I remember I could tell you what was wrong with the situation, including what was wrong with my boss, my boss’s boss, my employees, other employees, customers, and everything about work. It was rough and I couldn’t really see how it could get worse, then it did. 

I found out my wife was going through an equally, if not more difficult time in her life. This blindsided me… I had no idea things were so bad for her. I considered how unfortunate we were to be going through such difficult times in our lives at the same time. Shortly after that, I came to the realization that these weren’t two isolated events. Traci could not turn to me for support, because my only focus was myself, which only complicated and compounded her problems. 

“If I do not have peace within me, others around me will suffer,” Marvin J. Ashton. This is a hard lesson to learn.

It took years to surface from the hole I dug our family into, but we made it. As I look back at my life, regardless of the types of challenges or trials facing me, I recognize that the darkest times of my life were those times where my focus grew so narrow, that my problems were the only things I could consider. To a degree, I feel this is the inverse of Matthew 7:3. If my problems were a mote, a speck of dust, I put them so close to my eye that they blocked out the mountains of problems others were facing. I lost out on opportunities to help people I love.

At the best times of my life, I faced some of my greatest challenges. However, as opposed to the dark times in my life, the highlights of these times always include seeing someone’s pain lessen, or seeing real growth in someone else. Interestingly, I’m not at the center of my favorite memories. 

As I studied and pondered this week, Alma 5:9 stuck out to me in a way that it never has before. “And again I ask, were the bands of death broken, and the chains of hell which encircled them about, were they loosed? I say unto you, Yea, they were loosed, and their souls did expand, and they did sing redeeming love. And I say unto you that they are saved.” 

I love that not only when the chains of bondage were loosed, that the people were set free, but I love that their souls expanded. Instantly, as I read this my thoughts turned to consider what chains hold me in bondage, and with what chains am I holding others in bondage? As I considered this, I gained a greater understanding of Mosiah 4:2, because I too viewed my own carnal state and I too felt like less than the dust of the earth. 

In the midst of this, my focus turned to Alma 5:14, “And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?”

I felt a greater need to experience a mighty change of heart. Even though my desire to experience this change of heart increased, my understanding of what to do to continually experience this change of heart remained obfuscated. As I continued to study, I came across a quote by Lord Moulton, that clarified where I should place my efforts, “obedience to the unenforceable.”

What an amazing concept wrapped up into four words, obedience to the unenforceable. There is no way to enforce ‘love thy neighbor.’ There is no way to enforce ‘be a peacemaker.’ There is no way to enforce humility. There is no way to enforce meekness. 

Combine this with the further words of Marvin J. Ashton, “Never will peace and hatred be able to abide in the same soul. Permanent peace will elude those individuals or groups whose objective is to condemn, discredit, rail at, or tear down those whose beliefs are different from their own.”

Peace is the one thing I’ve probably strived for more than anything else in my life. I can now recognize which activities bring lasting peace. Not only do I need to rid my heart of judgment, hatred, inequity, but I need to fill it with obedience to those parts of life that can’t be enforced. If I truly love, I won’t truly hate. If I am a peacemaker, I won’t seek contention. If I am meek, I will learn what I need to work on. 

This week I’ve come to more fully recognize that I must be obedient to the unenforceable. I need to consider what I want to prioritize, then show the character to live in accordance with those priorities. The first priority I want to put in place is what Jesus asked of each us in John 13:34, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” Starting today, I will deliberately take time every day to consider others and the problems they may be facing. I will then seek to understand how I can love and serve them, as Christ loves and serves me.