It’s okay to be rebuked every now and then.
I am not sure if I am in the minority on this, but when I come to church on Sunday and I hear a talk or a lesson where either the words of the speaker/teacher, or the Holy Spirit, hit me with a good dose of spiritual “ouch,” I like it. I know we live in a world where it seems everyone gets offended by everything which makes being bold a real challenge. Granted there is a difference between the person who is trying to offend people and trying to be a jerk, but when I go to church, I need to hear what I need to hear, not just what I want to hear. Sometimes, that means it needs to hurt a little.
Some of my favorite General Conference talks are those where I get done listening to that and think, “Wow, I really need to work on that…and I want to.” In a recent Sacrament meeting in my ward, our Bishop spoke about the need to seek love and understanding with those whom we interact; That could be in online or in person encounters. It really hit me because, especially during election years, I can’t seem to keep my mouth shut, or keep my typing on social media to safe levels. I am not the bitter person I can sometimes appear to be online, and that is my fault. So, what he said was something that really needed to be said.
I know he didn’t share it because he was getting bored as a Bishop, or he hasn’t had anyone be critical of him and he was started to miss that. He did it because he loved us, and he loved the people with whom we interact enough to risk our momentary pain in hope for a brighter and better future.
Since the beginning of time, God has been dealing with people who get offended by his commandments. Cain and Able, right at the beginning of Genesis in Chapter 4, Cain gives an offering that was not “respected” of the Lord. In verse 5 that the result of this response, “Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.” Rather than say, “Oh, you didn’t like what I said, I guess I will take it back,” the Lord taught him further, “And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.”
The Lord did not allow Cain to shift the blame for his choices and call the Lord being a big meanie, he invited him to see that correct choices will lead him to peace and joy, while incorrect choices lead to anger and despair. Then he invited him to make the correct choice in light of the consequences of making the wrong choice. Cain chose to see the rebuke as a personal attack rather than an invitation by a loving God to improve his life, and to follow the proven path toward happiness.
Sometimes I wonder what Cain would have accomplished had he taken his rebuke in a different way. Would he have been a great brother, father, or maybe even prophet? The fact that Cain was so personally “ministered” to by Satan leads me to think that he was of great potential value to the work of the Lord, so much so that Satan didn’t leave his tempting to chance. But the story of Cain in the Holy Bible leads me to remember that it is okay to be rebuked every now and then. In fact, it’s probably a good thing, so long as we remember that we are here on this Earth to be humble, corrected, so we can learn to grow.
Nick Galieti is an experienced podcaster as both producer/host of The Good Word Podcast, and was named the recipient of the 2015 John Taylor: Defender of the Faith Award by FairMormon for his podcasting effort with that organization. Nick is the voice of Book of Mormon Central’s “KnoWhy” podcasts. Nick has directed and produced two documentaries on the life of Joseph Smith Jr., Picturing Joseph, and Murder of the Mormon Prophet.
Nick is also a published author of the books Tree of Sacrament, and The Exaltation Equation. A past guest of The Cultural Hall (click here to listen). Nick was born in Southern California, and served a mission to the Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Nick is a freelance sound engineer of over 15 years, is married, has 5 daughters, and now lives in West Valley City, Utah.