Some Great Thing

I love history.  I have been fascinated by history all my life.  It's not so much the where and when, but the "why" that intrigues me.  As I read of the "great things" of the human experience, I want to be there.  I want to stand with the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae, man they walls of the Alamo, or ride into the snow packed mountains searching for the stranded handcart pioneers.  It's not that I have a death wish, but I long for that battle against overwhelming odds.  I'm looking to do "some great thing".

I've read this is a common desire for the warrior's heart.  After 9/11 many people say, "I'm glad I wasn't on one of those planes" and the warrior says, "I wish I was on one of those planes.  Maybe I could have done something to change the outcome."  But this feeling isn't new.  It's been around since ancient times.

Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.

And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife.

And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.

And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.

And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment....

And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.

So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.

And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.

But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.

Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.

And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?

(2 Kings 5)

Naaman was a warrior and had the prophet asked him to do some great thing he would have done it or died trying.  Elisha could have sent Naaman on some impossible quest and the warrior in him would have driven him to accomplish it, but the prophet asked something simply, even seemingly silly.  In fact is was so silly the warrior walked away in anger.  But then a wise servant came to him and asked the question, "if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it?"

I'm that way.  If the prophet asked for volunteers to walk into snow packed mountain passes to rescue people, I'd do it, but I don't do my home-teaching regularly.  I risk my life for strangers, but I don't stop in and see how my neighbors are doing.  I'm waiting for the Lord to ask me to do some great thing, but I let a lot of the supposedly little and not so great things slide.

I've pondered on that a lot and I've decided it's partly because I don't see the significance of those "little" things.  People stranded in the mountains will die if we don't go save them, but if I don't do my home-teaching does that really have an effect upon those families?  And my neighbor isn't going to die if I don't stop by and see how he's doing.  

A couple days ago, I came across this video and it's changed how I think - not completely, I'm still looking for a dragon to slay!

Like President Hinckley says, we do not often see the results of what we do.  Because of that, what we do often seems insignificant or even a waste of time.  He said, "You never know how much good you do."

We can rest assured that God never asks us to do insignificant, meaningless, or unnecessary things. The things He asks us to do are life's truly "great things", but we just don't recognize them as such because we can't see the results.

This was on my mind today as the sun was rising and I patrolled through a peaceful countryside waking up to a Sabbath morning.  I thought, "Maybe this is all it is.  Maybe it's just helping my wife and kids and those around me the best that I can."

So I still put on my armor and weapons and set out looking for a dragon to slay, but I'm coming to see that "doing some great thing" is simply doing whatever God asks me to do today.