Religion

What matters most to you in your life?

Here's a story:

I'm with Katie this past Sunday. She did just about nothing but watch TV and chat on facebook that day, whereas I went to church, read the scriptures, listened to some hymns, and did all sorts of other religious stuff to try to consecrate that day to God, just like I have been taught was right since the day I was born.

She turns to me and says,

"Hey Andrew, I want a milkshake from In-N-Out. Wanna come with?"

Now, Katie has been in the LDS church her entire life. She even served a mission for this church. She knows what it teaches, and she knows that it's the Truth. She very well understands that it would be breaking the Sabbath to go out and buy something completely unnecessary--like a milkshake--on Sunday. So what do I do when she asks me if I want to go? I roll my eyes at her and tell her that she knows that's not the right thing to do on Sunday, and that she should just eat something here at the house instead. At this, she flips.

"Why don't you just go to hell you little self-righteous punk! You know what?! What if I don't believe the church is true any more? What if I don't care any more?! You see Andrew, that's the difference between you and me: you won't stop judging others! All I'm trying to do is get by right now, and here you are telling me that I'm an ass just because I want to buy a stupid milk shake on a Sunday! I'm not even gonna care, now am I? Nope! Why should you care what I think?! I just want a stupid milk shake!"

And yada yada yada.

Now, I wasn't really meaning to cast judgment on my sister. I was just trying to help her make what I thought would be a better choice overall because right now she's not feeling so well about herself and her situation in life, and I just thought that my tiny little efforts to help her keep the commandments would soon begin to have a positive effect on her and maybe help her find her little place in life and in this religion. And yet, it turned out terribly, as you read earlier.

Here's what I realized after I thought about it some more--and this is the moral of this story:

I should have gone with her.

Not only that, but I should have paid for her milkshake. I should have been there for her. I still can't believe that I actually put my OCD efforts to keep the Sabbath day holy above my own sister's needs. She didn't need anyone to tell her what was right and what wasn't right. She needed to feel accepted by her brother during a time in her life when she was finding herself questioning the entirety of her moral upbringing--something that would cause any of us to panic inside if we were to go through it like she is right now. No wonder she wanted a milkshake!

Well, this time I really blew it. I hope next time I see the people in my life first, because that is what really matters most, or so I believe.