“We should be inconvenienced by the gospel,” was the response I got from a friend when complaining about the demands of church responsibilities. Well, why?
Is a man really converted if he isn’t willing to sacrifice for his religion. . . ?
What is the difference between people who consume the world—and those who consecrate their time, talent, money, and more? “There are indeed “degrees of conversion,” and like other matters of degree, over the long term the differences can become magnified into shallow complacency—or sanctifying consecration.”
So remember the reason for the inconvenience is consecration and the results are really hidden rewards even “if from God who will reward thee in secret.”
Being inconvenienced is not just about offering material possessions, it’s about sacrificing ourselves, Elder Maxwell said, “Ultimate consecration is the yielding up of oneself to God. Heart, soul, and mind. . . . If we desire [to receive the Father’s] fullness, we cannot hold back part! . . . How could we be entrusted with His ‘all’ until our wills are much more like His? Nor could His ‘all’ be fully appreciated by the partially committed.”
