"THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated. "
The above quote was written by Thomas Paine at Valley Forge on the top of a drum as there was no paper. Washington was so moved when he read it, that he immediately shared it with the troops who were suffering there.
~~Today in church, we had a couple of talks given on the Atonement. They really hit home. The lady talked about how rough her life was as she grew up; both parents were drug users and physically and verbally abusive. She was living on her own at the age of 16 and made all kinds of wrong choices. By 18, she was an unwed mother. She talked about reaching the depths of despair and finally turning to God for a way to help herself and her son. It was through this prayer that she begin to apply the Atonement to herself and talked about the hope and strength it gave her to change her life. Her husband shared some quotes from church leaders and the story, "He Took My Beating for Me." I've heard it several times and it always gets to me. Because there was additional time left after the two speakers, a high councilman was asked to speak. He shared the above quote from Thomas Paine and applied it to the Atonement. With a little artistic license, we can apply the term summer soldier and sunshine patriot to ourselves. . . how we shrink from doing what is right when it's hard. Or we don't make needed changes because, even with the Atonement, it's so difficult. We need to remember, "What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value." Finally, exchange the word FORGIVENESS for FREEDOM, and consider that for a minute.
~~I was very moved by all the speakers today and wrote this blog so, hopefully, I can remember the feelings I had. I'm so thankful that my life has been relatively blessed and easy, but I hope I will not take my blessings for granted and that I won't take that monumental gift of the Atonement for granted. Certainly, I can apply it to myself in a much greater degree.
First of all, I enjoyed reading that entire quote from Thomas Paine. I knew the lines, "These are the times that try men's souls" and "What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives every thing its value." I didn't know the story behind them.
ReplyDeleteThe meeting sounded very inspirational. I like how the high councilman used the quote and tied in forgivenss and freedom. The talk by the young mother sounds like a tear jerker.
I like that quote because I really believe that it's true. If something costs you a lot to get, you typically pay more attention to it. It's like a child who has never had a toy and gets a toy. It is the most prized posession, as opposed to a child that is spoiled with toys. The toys may have no significance to that child.
ReplyDeletePretty much, it relates to economics, specifically "scarcity."