My children hear it from me almost every day. The teen girls I teach at church hear it from me several times in one lesson. For those who have stuck with me these last several months in reading my posts you’ve seen the words more than once.
If there were a sign or phrase to be attached to my life it would be this:
We always have a choice.
In every situation, even those that seem to take away our physical freedoms, there is a choice to be made. This choice may not be the same for every person even in a similar experience. However the end result, that goal we are all working towards, is the same for each and every one of us and depends greatly on our choices. I am talking, of course, of eternal life.
In the Book of Mormon, another testament of Jesus Christ, one of the scripture mastery verses revolved around this very idea.
“Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself” (2 Nephi 2:27).
Think for a moment about holding a can of alcohol in your hand. Attached to the can is little string. This little string could be easily cut or even broken if you wanted, but you’re not worried.
Now imagine this string is being wound around and around you. You don’t really notice because you’re having too much fun drinking. Pretty soon the alcohol is gone and obviously nothing horrible has happened. There’s just a little string around you, and you can cut it off at any time. So you ask for another drink.
This one has a thicker rope attached, but you don’t worry. After all nothing bad happened with the string, and a rope can also be cut. So you drink, and the rope is wrapped around and around. Sure the rope’s a little heavy, but you don’t mind. You can still move your arms. So you ask for another drink.
This one comes with a really thick rope. You’re a little concerned, but other than being a little tied up, you can’t see that the thick rope might hurt you. So you continue to drink and watch as the thick rope is wrapped tightly around. The weight is becoming harder to bear, but another drink should solve that, right?
Unfortunately this one comes with a chain attached. At this point you don’t really notice, though. You’re just having a good time drinking, and the more alcohol consumed the less you notice how heavy you feel. It doesn’t really matter anymore. Drinking a little beer hasn’t hurt you one bit, right?
Satan wants us tied down to things that will make us miserable. One of his greatest tricks is in making all our wrong choices seem harmless. In reality we are placing giant ropes and chains around us, placing us in bondage. Sin weighs us down, suffocates us, until all hope of being free is crushed. It is not, however, the loss of all hope.
We can still choose the way of eternal life, through our Savior Jesus Christ. Because of His sacrifices we can repent and become free. With Christ’s help we can take off the chains, ropes and strings that bind us. We can rid ourselves of sin to stand clean once again.
We can choose to be free.
