Extortion - Punishment And Reward

I often read murmuring arguments from those willing to justify themselves, that God would have spoken in proper grammar, and because the Prophet makes a mistake in spelling, or in sentence structure, that this is reason to disbelieve.  Those who argue these points are lost, and stand in need of repentance. 

The lord speaks to man, in the language of man, unto the understanding of man. 

He speaks in a way that we can understand, or rather to the prophet in the way that the prophet understands, who desperately tries to explain it in a way that the wicked can understand.  This explains why the Lord talks to man according to punishment and reward, because that is what most men understand. 

A selfish person only understands punishment and reward, which accounts for the scriptures being written in this manner.  Unfortunately, this gives rise to the portrayal of God as a gangster, using extortion or bribery to get His way.  By threatening punishment for those who disobey Him, or by offering a reward for those who obey Him.  And since God is the only true source of pure good, how can He be a gangster?  He must be speaking in terms of punishment and reward for the sake of people who cannot understand anything else. 

Nevertheless, He has also spoken in other ways in the scriptures, such as the stewardship parables.  These parables portray more individual free agency, instead of just using extortion or bribery as the means of motivation to choose good over evil.  They portray a steward getting a promotion if he does well, and getting fired if he neglects his duties.  I would hazard a guess that if he does his duty, and very little beyond his duty, that he would just remain in his job, but I hope not to inspire anyone to complacency, for we should always be striving to do better. 

These stewardship parables can be easily applied to a more modern setting, helping some to understand God’s plan and our own accountability, such as a parable of an employee doing very well at his job and then at his job assessment, he is promoted to a better position.  Many people are happy in the job that they have and do not desire a promotion, and they just do their duty and remain faithful in their current position.  There are others that do their job poorly or cause problems, and these are demoted or fired, and sometimes they have legal action brought against them. 

This parable can be expanded or modified to show many different aspects of life and judgment and the afterlife.  This would be like doing well at school, studying hard, staying away from the popular people and parties and trouble-making, then getting good grades and going to university and getting a good education.  Then comes judgment, or in other words, an employment opportunity.  The better we did in school and the higher the education we obtained, the better the job that we may apply for.  This shows God in a more kind light, as a willing employer, instead of a gangster.  But if we spent our time goofing off and not studying, or partying and not doing our homework, or just spend our time trying to make friends or be popular or accepted, then when it comes to the time to get a job, we do not have the skills or education to get a good job and we have to settle for whatever we can get. 

These type of parables, the steward/employee or education/job parables, portray God and judgment in a more loving light.  The responsibility of our afterlife is more completely in our control, and we are not just choosing good under duress of punishment, nor is our love for our fellow beings degraded, by payment for our good deeds, thus making us selfish and greedy, and certainly uncaring and evil.  Instead we are more free to choose the position in the afterlife that we want. 

One of my favourite parables is the one of the two sons who work on their daddy’s farm.  Both sons work very hard and do equally well in all aspects of the farm.  Then the daddy asks the sons why they work so hard.  One son says that he works hard because he loves his daddy and wants to please him.  The other son says that he began working hard because he loves his daddy and wanted to please him, but after time he learned also to love the farm and all it could provide for others.  Both sons did their duty; the son who did his duty would always have a place on the farm, but the son who loved the farm as his daddy did, and loved the work because he could provide for others, would inherit the farm. 

Toni told me of a parable that she likes –

If a person had a garden, and worked in the garden, planting and weeding, watering and fertilizing, then that person will have a harvest according to his labours. 

If the person were to goof around and neglect his garden, then he would have a harvest according to his neglect. 

If the person neglected his garden and ruined plants, then he would have less plants to harvest from later.  But if he later decided to repent and replant, tending to his duties, then he would be able to undo some of the damage that he caused and gain a better harvest, but still the harvest would not be as good as it could have been, if the person had done his duty from the beginning. 

This parable shows that our afterlife is completely in our control and our harvest will be our decision.  We reap what we sow. 

I also like the parable of the bodybuilder.  A person who is interested in getting stronger and healthier may do so according to his wants.  If he eats healthy and exercises properly and makes the appropriate lifestyle choices, then that person may find the desired results.  But if the person just says that he wants to have a strong and healthy body, and does not follow the appropriate method to obtain such, then he will not have the healthy body that he says that he desires.  This is a simple cause and effect that most people can understand. 

But if we apply reward and punishment to this, it almost seems ridiculous.  Such as:  If you eat properly, exercise properly, choose the proper lifestyle choice, then I will bless you with a strong and healthy body, but if you do not these proper things to build your body, then I will punish you with a weak and unhealthy body. 

The scriptures were not written to the righteous, but to the wicked, so they at times may seem terribly cruel to the righteous.  The scriptures say that God will punish people for evil and reward people for good, but in reality, a person punishes themselves and rewards themselves by living appropriately.  It is the same as making our bodies healthy or not.  It is not so much that the Lord is punishing us with an unhealthy body, or rewarding us with a healthy one, but more like a cause and effect of our own choice.  So also do I view my life choices, that my judgment really is of my own making, not punishment or reward, but cause and effect, a direct result of my own making. 

This parable shows God in a completely loving light, teaching us the methods to obtain a healthy body, or great afterlife, and letting us build ourselves as much as we desire.  He is certainly sad if we do not progress as far as we could, but He is also very happy for us the closer we get to perfection.  Either way it is our choice, and He is happy to allow us our choice. 

Therefore, threats that we will not progress if we do evil are then really for the benefit of those people who cannot take responsibility for their own actions and they want to blame someone else, also for those who enjoy harming others.  So ‘punishment and reward’ is a telestial level law.  Earning a better job or position, is a little higher law.  And doing good because you like good, not for reward or position, but because you like to help people, shows that you will become who you make yourself, and the things that you do wrong are really self inflicted hindrances and not punishments forced upon us.

The Lord loves those who do good for the sake of doing good.  They are the ones who are true followers of the Father.  They are they which pass on to the next stage of progression. 

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