DISCOVERING THE KEY TO A LIFE OF RIGHT-NESS

As I have gone through the passages of aging during my mortal span, one of the dramatic changes which has come in my life is the perception of what I deem to be the key to finding the path which will help me return to my Heavenly Father.
When I was very young I operated under the assumption that if I did what my earthly parents said was right I would be in pretty good shape with my Heavenly Father. The problem was I spent about as much time trying to hide wayward actions from them as I did trying to walk the path they had outlined.

As the years passed I found that there were abundant sources which were willing to define what was right and what was wrong to do in life. These willing contributors were very positive in their declarations of what was good and what was evil. Even during my hormone driven youth I was able to see that their conflicting definitions might be correct or incorrect, or both incorrect, but they could not both be correct. It didn’t really matter much who was correct or incorrect, because it seemed many decisions were being made by some mystical power beyond the control of my logical thinking.

As a measure of maturity started to kick in I decided that relationships were the most important decision making determiner. I even came up with a personal creed that stated. ‘It is better to be right than be right.’ I used this phrase as a fairly constant reminder that since we were all more or less guessing about life and the eternities (with our finite minds trying to comprehend the Infinite) it was kind of pointless to argue and fuss about stuff and it was better to just be nice. This formula worked really well except when encountering obstinate personalities who seemed determined to test the level of nice-ness, or something like that.

As the years have lengthened into multiple decades I have decided that with my remaining years I will try to be less self-righteous and try to be guided to do right-ness according to the directions my Heavenly Father might send my way by His Holy Spirit.

A few thoughts about the difference between being self-righteous and right-ness:

Do I concentrate on preparing a mansion for myself in the Heavens or am I striving to make the community I live in a little more heavenly?

Do I strive to let my light shine so brightly that others will see my saintliness or am I quietly spending my days doing saintly acts for my ever expanding circle of brothers and sisters?

Do I spend my efforts trying to become one of the exclusive few worthy to return to live eternally with Heavenly Father or am I using my feeble talents to enlarge the circle of those who will be included in the eternal family?

Do I make sure I surround myself with those who walk the narrow path of exclusivity I have defined in my mind, or am I finding ways to broaden the borders of the highway I have been blessed to wander upon so that I can assist those who are struggling to find the way Home?

Do I separate myself from those who have chosen tangent paths as a guard to my own goodness or do I trust in the shield of faith to protect me against falling into evil as I strive to help others move toward better choices?

Do I sit in my cubicle expanding my knowledge of the scriptures so that I might impress others or do I recognize that whatever gift I have received by the grace of God is given so that I might be an instrument in inviting all to come unto Christ?

Do I bask in the swelling feeling of pride that I am indeed one of the limited few who have seen the light or am I constantly reminded of how far I have yet to go and that where I am is but evidence of the gifts I have received from a loving Heavenly Father?

Do I stand on the blessings I have received from God as proof of my self- righteousness or do I rise each morning with a prayer that with His help I might do some right-ness today.

I become convinced day by day that concentration on self-righteousness is a sure way of causing a blinding darkness which will obscure my understanding of the true purpose of life, which is to be part of Heavenly Father’s army doing daily right-ness to bring to pass the immortality and eternal lives of all His children.

I wonder if I am given another decade of life what the next formula for maximizing mortality I will be governed by?

WRITTEN BY- WILLIAM L. RILEY

EDITED BY – KATHLEEN W. RILEY