Lord of the Rings 魔戒 -- 山姆 Samwise Gamgee

Lord of the Rings is by far one of my all-time favorite movies. While preparing for a lesson for a church lesson, I was reminded of this scene in the Return of the King. Although just a fiction story, the quote applies easily to many things in our life. When we are crushed down by the trials of life and feeling confused about why we wanted to try in the first place, may we always remember that there is a grand goal we are working towards. In the end, all the enormous difficulties in life are but a brief moment in eternity. Hold on in our pursue and it will be worth it. 

 魔戒三部曲是我一直以來非常喜歡的電影，最近在準備一堂教會課程時，剛好想到這個片段，為了課程而加上字幕，也在此與大家分享。雖然這只是個科幻故事，這句話卻可以應用在現實生活中。如果你被生活的挑戰壓垮，忘記了自己當初開始努力的原因，希望這句話可以提醒你，你一開始的目標。在永恆的生命中，在塵世的短暫幾十年，但只是一片刻而已，只要我們努力保持我們的標準，不斷追求我們的目標，有一天，這一切都會是值得的。

祢為什麼不幫我？

有個人想出海捕魚，帶著自己的小船準備出海，旁邊的人看到說，這裡海浪太大，你的船太小，但他說，這是我自己造的船，神會幫我。附近的漁民看到就說，那你跟著我們，遇到問題我們可以幫忙。

他們一起出海找個好地方開始釣魚，風和日麗的天氣，這人看到遠方有飛魚，就決定脫隊前往。魚竿丟下後，他默默等著，過一陣子，其他漁船們示意他們準備返回，這人卻不願意，他還沒補到他夢想中的大魚。一不小心睡著了，醒來時發現天氣已經變了，刮起一陣風，四周沒有其他船。這人趕緊收起魚竿，用槳努力往海岸滑去，但是時候已晚，漸漸開始刮起狂風暴雨，他的槳斷了，連方向都搞不清楚。他全力抓著船的邊緣，僥倖度過風雨。

風雨過後，這人發現自己被困在海中，開始抱怨神怎麼沒有幫他掉到大魚，怎麼沒有提醒他要即使回家。想著想著，他想起祈禱曾經幫助過自己，就開始祈禱請神救他。祈禱後，他有個感覺，或許船的椅子下面有一隻備用的槳，但他瞥眼一看，怎麼可能，我沒放槳在那裡，不會有的。他搖頭笑笑自己的想像力，又開始祈禱。附近出現一艘漁船，路過問他是否需要幫忙，他說不用，神會來救他，便繼續等待。後續又來了兩艘船，但這人依然拒絕他們的幫助，說神會幫助他。

最終這人漂流大海，躺在船中問神：「我不是比別人更努力工作，甚至自己蓋船，我不顧危險，出海想補條大魚獻祭給祢，祢為何沒有幫助我？為何沒有回答我的祈禱呢？」

天父無奈的回答：「我從小教你，捕魚不如家人重要，你卻因為看到鄰居的魚，堅持也要追求大魚。星期天早上，我叫你去教會，你卻決定出海捕魚，路上我警告你，你不聽，我找人幫助你，你不願，狂風中我救了你，你卻在心中自誇是自己的船堅固，我把槳放在你的位子下，你也不看，最後我派人回答你的禱告，你卻坐在船中，連伸手求救都不願意。的確，即使你留在岸上，那天也會遇到狂風暴雨，你的房子會倒塌，但是你的鄰居會幫你，而雨過天晴後，你腳下是穩固的陸地，你可以再站起來。我對不公平了嗎？孩子，去椅子下找出那副槳，滑到岸邊吧。」

故事中的人似乎是過於固執、自討苦吃，但我們卻都跟他一樣，天父從小告訴我們簡單的家庭生活比工作金錢還重要，我們卻看到他人的成就，無法克制地追求相同的生活。安息日我們說，時間不夠，不能不讀書工作；有經文在身邊，我們說那不會幫助我們；面對教會及家人的勸告，我們總ˋ是堅持己見；神回答了禱告，我們卻一直等待我們要的答案。最後問神，為什麼生活這麼苦，為什麼努力沒有結果，我們到底在為什麼過生活。

神說：「孩子，我知道你很苦，我看到你的努力，我知道你面對無比的挑戰，我知道你覺得自己做不來，我知道你覺得我沒有回答你的禱告，我知道你覺得無力孤獨很想放棄。但是，你為何都不聽我的答案呢？週日去教會，是提醒你不需要只靠自己的力量，安息日叫你不讀書工作，因為我知道你身心會累，需要休息。我的經文可以給你平安，祈禱時聆聽聖靈會告訴你一切所需的事，你為什麼不做呢？的確，教會不會讓你工作能力增加，經文不會讓你成績變好、祈禱不會讓你金錢變多，但是至少在遇到苦難時，你會知道一切不是毫無希望的，在被人生擊垮時，你的腳下是穩固的根基，你可以再站起來，繼續前進。所以，孩子，拿起你的經文，讓我給你力量，去教會讓我給你平安，禱告讓我可以告訴你該做的事，困難不會減少，但心中的負擔可以減輕。你會知道你的方向，你會了解你為什麼努力。」

A Great Goal that Requires Sacrifice

"To sacrifice is to give up something valuable or precious, often with the intent of accomplishing a greater purpose or goal" - lds.org

I have a friend that left the church because of issues with homosexuality. After some discussions, she said it comes down to fairness. "It just isn't fair that God would endorse some marriages and condemn others." Then she said, it would be like asking you to break up with your boyfriend while others don't have to. It isn't fair.

I thought about this a lot after our conversation and came to the conclusion that, "yea. it isn't fair but it is right." It seems contradictory at first since God is supposed to be just and right. Yet, if you think about it, this is no different from any other law.

One could say: it's not fair. My friends wants to drink juice and that's okay but I want to drink wine and that's not okay.

Or perhaps, you'd say: I have urges to kill people and I'm not allowed, but my friends has urges to eat chocolate cake all the time and that's okay.

I know that it's not exactly a perfect analogy but it is true. What you really mean to say is: It's not fair, what I want is not what God wants.

Then there is the underlying question: why did God make me this way? Why do I want something that is wrong?

The truth is, we all do. Some of us want to be filthy rich and famous. Some of us want to be anti-social and alone. Some of us never want to marry. Some of us want to be lazy and gluttonous. Some of us want to be nasty and mean to others. The natural man is an enemy of God. We all want something that God doesn't approve.

In Greek mythology, it would be called "our fatal flaw." Everyone has it.

A ill tempered person learn to control themselves to get a job and work with his coworkers. A lazy person forces themselves out of bed every day and do something more productive than watch TV because we all need to eat to live. A compulsive liar have to restrain themselves to get along in the society.

And a person with homosexual inclination must resist their desire to enter the kingdom of God.

80 years of restraint for an eternity of happiness. Is that too high a price to pay?

 For most of you reading this, this may not be a personal problem. But each of us have a weakness. Something that our natural self wants and fights for every day. Something that God disproves. We must battle each day to resist that. Sacrifice our desire. Never say, "it's not fair that what I want is not what God wants," learn instead to want what God would want.

Only then have we won the race of life.