The World Lieth in Sin

I was struck yesterday by the simple statement of this Lord: “But it is not given that one man should possess that which is above another, wherefore the world lieth in sin.”  The Lord has given us “the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which cometh of the earth” so that we “might have in abundance,” but it was not His design that we should have the great inequality among men that exists today.  As parents we often emphasize to our children that they should share their toys with their siblings or with playmates, and they often struggle to do that.  We might lecture them on the importance of being kind and that besides, the toys aren’t really theirs anyway because we bought them for them: they should let others use them as well!  And yet, despite how clear this all seems to us—the need for our children to share their things and to be generous to those around them, to be “liberal to all” as Alma 1:30 puts it—how hard it usually is for us adults to do the same with our money and possessions that really belongs to the Lord anyway!

                Of course, it is easy to rationalize and suggest that it is different for kids with little cheap toys, that when it comes to real money and big things we can’t go about sharing those in the same way.  We might reason that when we are talking about kids’ trinkets that is one thing—and those obviously need to be shared by our children—but when we are talking about real money and real possessions, that’s a different story.  But about this the Lord has been very clear in the scriptures: those who have are to share.  For example, He said this of old to the man who built bigger barns instead of sharing his wealth, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” (Luke 12:20)  If we haven’t adequately shared what the Lord has given to us, then it will serve only to our condemnation.  The Lord’s brother James described it this way: “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you” (James 5:1-3).  In other words, our riches will perish after this life—they will canker and rust and be eaten by moths—and they will be unavailable to us except for the fact that they will stand as a witness of our greed and selfishness.  To the rich man in Christ’s parable who wouldn’t share what he had with the beggar Lazarus in his lifetime Abraham put it this way, “Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented” (Luke 16:25).  And in our dispensation the Lord gave this strong rebuke: “Wo unto you rich men, that will not give your substance to the poor, for your riches will canker your souls; and this shall be your lamentation in the day of visitation, and of judgment, and of indignation: The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and my soul is not saved!” (Doctrine and Covenants 56:16)  The prophet Jacob did instruct us that it is acceptable in the Lord’s eyes to seek riches after we have sought the kingdom of God, but only under one condition: “Ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted” (Jacob 2:19).  In other words, we must all learn to share what we have with those in need just like we teach our kids to share, or we join that part of the world that “lieth in sin.”