Worth it?

I want to tell you a story of a time when I was extreme foolish. This experience has had a profound impact on my life. I was five. I was the owner of a beautiful metal box that had a built-in combination. My dad gave it to me. It was the greatest thing. I kept all of my prized possessions in there (my stick-on earrings, gel pens, and my hello-kitty eraser). Well, one Sunday, my older sister, Kate, had a huge bag of skittles in Sacrament meeting. She would not share and it wasn’t even the regular size, it was the party-size. I tried and tried to convince her to share, but she would not. In a final desperate attempt, I offered her my beautiful box if she would share with me. She gave me SIX SKITTLES for my box. Six. I agreed to accept six skittles in exchange for my box. Eating my skittles, I was (mostly) happy at the time, but I very quickly regretted my decision. It was a straight-up Jacob and Esau situation. And I was Esau. I still can’t hear about that story without cringing and thinking back to that trade I made. I sold myself short. I lost sight of what was more important to me.

I often think of this in relation to things on a grander scale. Many things can be substituted for the box and many for the skittles. While I know we do give up things that are important for things we want now, I think that more often instead of actively giving things up, we get distracted. The box is eternal life and the skittles are Satan’s distractions. Satan is the master of distraction. We get distracted easily by things that don’t matter instead of focusing on the eternal. How many times do we give the internet or Netflix most of our time? How long do we hold on to grudges or are quick to take offense? Perfectionism, jealousy, comparison, and seeking worldly success are all distractions from what’s most important. Through these distractions, we are selling ourselves short of our divine potential. Just as a bowl of pottage wasn’t worth Esau’s inheritance and six skittles not worth the box, neither are Satan’s distractions worth our eternal salvation. Never make that trade.

--Camille