Thought Full Thursday

Recently I have been thinking a lot about the two scriptures where it talks about Kicking Against The Pricks.


Acts 9:4-5


4 And he afell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, bSaul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?


5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am aJesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to bkick against the pricks.

Doctrine And Covenants 121:37-38


37 That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to acover our bsins, or to gratify our cpride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or ddominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens ewithdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.


38 Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to akick against the pricks, to bpersecute the saints, and to cfight against God.

“What does it mean to “kick against the pricks”? (Acts 9:5.) (A prick was a sharp spear people used on animals to make them move. Often the animals would kick back when pricked, which made the spear hurt them even more. Jesus Christ was telling Saul that his actions were harming himself more than anyone else. When we fight against what is right, we hurt ourselves the most.)” -Lesson 42: The Conversion of Saul,” Primary 7: New Testament, 147

This is how I have been feeling recently. I take the lazy way out. I am too tired to read my scriptures at night so I don’t but I lay there and worry about my spirituality. I forgo my prayers in the morning and wonder about the blessings I am missing. I complain about my calling and try to avoid responsibility. It seems that I take more effort to be lazy than to actually do what is right. I feel that I am not necessarily trying to do bad but am fighting God when I try to rationalize being lazy. Why do I insist on kicking against the pricks when I could just surrender and allow Christ and the gospel to envelop my life and change my lifestyle?