Giving God Control

I read somewhere that we should give control of our lives to God, and so I was contemplating what that means and what it looks like.  It's not a big shock to me or anyone else that He's smarter, wiser, and more knowledgeable than everyone on the planet, so it makes sense to give control to Him.  I also know that giving Him control does NOT look like me sitting around waiting for Him to decide what I should wear, tell me exactly how to help everyone, and take away my problems!

God gave me the ability to choose, and He wants me to use it.  I believe that giving control to Him means that I use my will to choose Him, and His way. I trust Him in all circumstances.  I believe Him and His word and that keeping the commandments is the happy way to live.  I use my agency to think, do, and say things that honor Him.  I take time to listen for His guidance, and to follow it.  When I make mistakes, and sin, giving control to God is repenting -- letting Him heal me.

In short, giving control to God simply means that I use the agency He gave me to choose to give up what I think is best, to do what He knows is best.  Elder Maxwell's quote is a good summation:

In striving for ultimate submission, our wills constitute all we really have to give God anyway.

Neal A. Maxwell

A Grudgingly Given Gift

A few years ago a friend asked me to go somewhere with her.  I really did not want to go, but I went anyway.  I felt so grumpy!  And for some reason I had the scripture in my mind that says, "...if a man being evil giveth a gift, he doeth it grudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the gift..." (Moroni 7:8).  This just made me more grumpy!  Here I was trying to do something nice and I felt like somehow I was being called evil -- and that it didn't count!  That didn't seem fair.

I know that life isn't about collecting enough good check marks to get to heaven, but my interpretation of the scripture in relation to this incident bothered me.   Finally, after all this time, I studied this scripture more carefully.  Grudgingly in the dictionary is defined as "reluctantly or resentfully".  I don't think I was resentful about going, but I was reluctant!  As I studied I looked at context, and at the scriptures in the footnotes, and I came to the conclusion that grudgingly in this case meant without a heart towards God or without a willingness to do His will.

I realized that the intention behind our actions is critical, and love should be behind any gift. I went with my friend when I didn't really feel like it because I love her, and I thought it was the kind thing to do.  I did feel like I gave this gift grudgingly, but I feel better knowing that Heavenly Father knows my heart, and His judgment is fair.

**Photo by Plush Design Studio on Unsplash