The Weather - 1 Thessalonians 5:1-4

5:1-2 - Even though the Thessalonian saints should take comfort knowing that their loved ones will get to be a part of the second coming, they should also still know that the timeline for it is unknown. Paul tells them that “the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night,” which might seem pretty scary because no one wants someone in their house that isn’t welcome and taking their stuff. It kind of gives the whole second coming a negative connotation. But if we think about it, the people who own the house don’t know when the thief is coming and when he does show up he completely changes their world. And really, it might even be one of those things where the thief comes whether you want him to or not, just like the Savior, who will come again whether people want him to or not. I personally want him to come back so bad. And looking back on their timeline, we can say “of course he’s not coming any time soon for you,” but do we think he’s coming back soon for me? Who knows. I’m good either way. 5:3 - Interestingly, Paul says of those who’s house is robbed, “They shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them.” I thought that this was a pretty weird statement but the article on this chapter from gospeldoctrine.com quotes Joseph Fielding Smith as interpreting it as the nations of the world, “would be seeking for safety, and seeking for peace, and during these very times would come destruction upon them… Each nation is contending and contesting with other nations- trying to enter into agreements in regard to armaments, trying to curtail other nations, and trying to build up themselves- and at the same time asking for peace conferences and conventions, and world courts and league of nations, and everything else, in order that they might establish peace in the earth, which they cannot do because they will not get down to the fundamental principles upon which peace is built. As long as they have in their hearts selfishness and greed, and the desire for power and for wealth, and for all of the other things that belong to this world, and forget the things of the kingdom of God, there will be no peace, and there will be no contentment. There will be quarreling and contention, strife and war, and in the midst of all their labor, trouble will come which they could avoid, and that very easily, by repentance, getting contrite spirits and broken hearts, and loving their neighbors; but this they will not do.” This was a really long quote, but I really liked it because it says, in much better words, what I’ve been saying this whole time. We are a Nephite nation. We don’t want to repent, we don’t want to treat others with love and kindness, we want to be powerful, we want to be rich and comfortable. We want to do what we want to do all the time and the consequences don’t matter. This is why we are suffering as a country, because we will not repent. And that’s a hard thing to say because most of our countrymen don’t believe in the same religion that we do, but I would suggest that sometimes the ones who are religious are some of the worst offenders. The “religious right?” building walls, cutting benefits, harboring racist view. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about conservatism, because I myself subscribe to some conservative principles, mostly fiscal ones, but I’m talking about those who profess to be Christians and then are dishonest to make money, etc. But those people are just using religion as a cover and if it wasn’t religion that worked for them, then they would do something else. But most people want to be good people and are trying their best with what they know. I think about Captain Moroni’s times and even though the people and especially his soldiers were being righteous, they still floundered as a society because the country’s leadership was in upheaval. That might just be a lesson to us, as we strive to be good people and good citizens, it wasn’t until a representative, well intended government was holding power again that the people began to gain traction in their war against the Lamanites. We could also look at it from the perspective of the people “saying” they want peace but end up being destroyed because they were secretly wicked and not entitled to God’s protection. That’s why they will be surprised when the Savior returns and sends the world that they’ve created for themselves into a tailspin. 5:4 - While the wicked will be surprised at the Lord’s coming, those who righteous, “are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.” And I think that this is true for everyone, not just those who will be around at the actual second advent of the Savior. Because if this was all just applicable to those who will be physically mortal and living at the time Jesus comes again, that that means that the significant majority of people throughout human history will be getting off scot free. But it’s not just being surprised when the Savior shows up in the sky, but also being surprised when we exit mortality and suddenly have to exist in a world where money and power and violence mean nothing. We can believe whatever we want and we can surround ourselves with worldly things and people, but that doesn’t mean that we can change the reality of God’s power, rule, and plan. I was watching a tv show called “Below Deck” and it’s about these super yachts that people can charter to take them out on the ocean for vacation. I love watching it because I like watching the places that they go and the food that the chefs make. But the most powerful moment for me was the first time they couldn’t leave the dock because of the weather. I thought “how profound that these people who are billionaires and literally rule the world with their money and power, are sidelined by some rain and wind.” It was just such a powerful moment for me to realize that we live down here in this world with the things that we think about important, but ultimately have no value over something as simple as God’s power over the weather.