Jonas (6), about 5 seconds ago as I signed in to post, said to Kati (wife), "Mom, I'm gonna start being a better boy." Kati chuckled for a moment and asked why, to which he responded, "So I can get whatever I want."
The title to this post was already written at that point, and this statement by my son fits perfectly into what I was going to describe--our innate desire for self-satisfaction, and what we are willing, or unwilling, to do to get it.
We all want to feel good, to be satisfied, to be great, to be right, to be smart, and to be accepted by others, etc. We spend the vast majority of our time trying to fulfill these desires. That's fine--there's no problem with these desires, only with faulty methods of achieving them. I could develop this next idea really thoroughly, but I will cut to the chase (which I seldom do) and simply accept it as a given:
few people are willing to do the work it takes to achieve all of these things--we want to get those needs filled quickly and easily.
This day and age is by far the easiest of all historical eras, in terms of comfort, living standard, accumulating wealth and information, etc. However, according to many, it is the least satisfied and most depressed. In any case, it is a tragedy to me that we skip so much self-development and simply seek a docile equilibrium of existence.
What God has in store for us is that we become glorified, immortal beings--joint heirs with Christ. Christ took the hardest (infinitely so) path possible. So we must also be willing, as He was, to walk that road.
If what God wanted was a bunch of hymn-singing stiffs to massage His ego for eternity, then that would be fine--just "be good" and we'll all go to heaven. But God doesn't want that. He wants his sons and daughters to become like He and His son Christ have become.
Christ walked a hard path, and not just in the wine-press of Gethsemane, but throughout His life. We want to follow him, but get worried if we upset people with our beliefs? We want to follow Him but are scared to declare right from wrong because it will be less "inclusive" of everybody? We want to follow Him but are afraid of appearing old school and outdated, ignorant and superstitious? We want to follow Him but would rather sit on the couch than serve when (and then before being) called upon?
God sent us here to work. Together. That work ruffles feathers. Some people become unhappy, some antagonistic. The thing that makes me the most sad is when people who are engaged in God's work become envious of those who aren't, and look to the ease of their lives and pretend that "easy" and "right" are the same thing. Wickedness never was happiness (Alma 41:3), and "ease" is almost never happiness.
To all the Mormon families who fight the most on Sundays and Family Home Evenings, I give props...keep it up. To all those who've been outcast for their opinions by the open-minded, remember that He was as well. To all who review their good choices and wonder why some of those very choices have seemed to cause great issues, don't fall in to the temptation to leave truth for ease.
Remember it's all part of the plan. No flying without falling, no faith without friction, and no progress without pain.
Then remember that nothing you could ever go through is comparable in any way to what He suffered for you.
So Jonas, who wants it all his way, and is even experienced enough to realize that good deeds will be rewarded, etc., just got out of bed for the third time and lost a bunch of privileges. He just hasn't learned yet that to win the real prize is to be obedient in more than word, but in deed, no matter what he finds easy in the moment.
