Galatians

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BACKGROUND

Now Galatians is very similar to Romans in theme because Paul happens to be dealing with a lot of the same types of issues that the Saints in Rome had. And the main issue is again, the Jewish Christians demanding that the Gentile Christians live certain aspects of the Mosaic Law in order to be considered true disciples. So, they felt they needed to be circumcised, that they needed to observe the Jewish feasts and holidays, and keep the more ritual parts of the Mosaic law. But this issue had already been addressed and resolved in the Jerusalem council that this was not a necessary part of becoming a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. And yet, some of the Jewish members just couldn’t let it go. And so Paul is going to confront those false teachers and those that are being persuaded by them to help them understand that it’s faith and relying on the grace of Christ that makes a Christian. Not circumcision.

That issue, of course, is probably not going to be super relevant or even interesting to those you teach, especially if you’re teaching the youth. So I like to take a broader approach to Galatians and examine the issue through the lens of this question: What do we do when somebody or the world seeks to draw us away from the teachings and leadership of the prophets and apostles? Because that’s the situation the members are dealing with here. Certain individuals are calling the revelations of the prophets and apostles into question and saying that they knew better, and that the leadership of the Church was getting it wrong. And sadly, a number of the members are getting caught up in that pressure and turning their backs on the brethren.

Now is that a relevant issue to our day? Yes. Yes it is. I see it all over. Our beliefs, policies, and church leaders are being challenged daily by the whims of the world. There are many out there that are seeking to change the minds of the people you’re teaching, to conform to their opinions and views, and that goes for youth AND adults. With the advent of technology, never have we been more vulnerable to the influences and attitudes of the world around us. I believe that the Book of Galatians can help us to better navigate that world and learn to be in it, but not of it.

ICEBREAKER

So for an icebreaker, An object lesson. I would set out two objects in front of my class: a jar of jelly, and a rock. And ask: Which of these two objects do you think God wants us to be like when it comes to living the gospel? Why? And you’ll likely get a variety of responses and there’s no right or wrong answers to that question. They may interpret that analogy differently than you do. But whether somebody in the class shares something similar to this or you decide to add it yourself, the following point could be made: I believe that God wants us to be more like a rock than the jelly. Jelly will always conform to the container you put it in. At this point I pull out a jello mold that I found on Amazon that’s in the shape of a Lego person—a minifigure. I’ll put a link in the video description below where you can get one of these. They’re not that expensive. https://amzn.to/3rcC0R1 And I’ll open the jar of jelly and start to spoon some of it into the mold. And I say, “If I were to scoop some jelly into this mold, what’s it going to do?” It’s going to ooze and flow and fill in all the parts of the mold. It will conform to the shape that it’s given. If I were to change the shape of the container, the jelly would also change its shape. It has no strength of its own. It borrows its form from its surroundings. We don’t want to be like that. We don’t want to be the type of people that conform to whatever opinions, beliefs, or practices the majority of others around us have—to just go with the flow, and seek for others to give us our shape. No, we want to be rocks with our own integrity, power, and strength of character. If I try to put the rock into the mold, it’s not going to change at all. It’s going to retain its shape no matter how hard you try to push it in. It stands firm. I believe that God wants us to be rocks, not jelly people. Now a quick suggestion. With that jello mold, you could make a bunch of jello people for your class, one for each member to eat at the end of the lesson if you like. And, you could also find some nice-looking rocks for them and write the phrase “Be a Rock” in permanent marker on the outside of it and give one to each student as well. That can be a fun way to make the lesson more memorable.

TRANSITION

Well, many of the Galatian saints are having this problem. They are becoming jelly people. Which is kind of funny because if you change just one letter in the name Galatians, it becomes Gelations. Like gel, or jelly. Many of them are conforming to the beliefs of the more popular or charismatic people around them which unfortunately conflicts with the revelations from God to his leaders. They’re tempted to just go with the flow. Paul’s letter to the Galatians will help us to know what we can do when we feel pressure from the world around us to conform. When this kind of situation happens we can be one of two things, but not both. Paul is not going to call them jelly people or rocks, but he’ll use some scriptural terms instead. Can you find those terms? Can you find the two types of people we can be in Galatians 1:10?

And that verse says:

10 For do I now persuade (and the JST changes that word to please) men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

So what are the two things that we can be? We can be men pleasers (jelly people, and you could point to the jelly jar at this point), or servants of Christ (and point to the rock). The great personal question of the book of Galatians then is "Which am I?”

And I’ve found that can be a great little hook to hang the rest of your lesson on. An effective way of approaching the book of Galatians. This “Men Pleasers vs. Servants of Christ” theme.

LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES—BRAINSTORM

To help them see “relevancy” early on in your lesson, you do this brief activity. We’re going to brainstorm here. Remember that the issue the Galatians are struggling with is that some are saying that the Gentiles members needed to be circumcised and follow the Mosaic law in order to be true Christians, when this was not what the church leaders were teaching. That was their issue. That is not relevant to us. But what are some of our issues today? What are some of the issues where worldly views conflict with those of the church?

And I’m sure they will come up with some, there are so many. And they could be very different depending on the age of your audience. For adults, some examples could be:

Gay marriage. The world says one thing, the servants of Christ say another.

What we do with the Sabbath day. The world says one thing, the servants of Christ say another

Women’s issues. There are some who feel that the Church is getting it wrong. That we need to change our policies regarding women. The servants of Christ don’t agree.

For younger people:

Media choices are a big one. What the world says is appropriate and ok and normal to consume is different from what the servants of Christ say is appropriate.

Swearing. The language the world uses, is different from the language the servants of Christ would have us use.

Modesty. The styles of the world are different from what the servants of Christ would have us wear.

Cheating. What the majority of young people do in their schoolwork, is different from what the servants of Christ would have us do.

And on and on. I mean, I think we can all agree that the commandments, standards, policies, and beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ run counter to what many in the world believe. The Church does not go with the flow. It does not conform. And just like with the Galatians, there are even members of the Church that struggle with that dynamic and find it difficult to go against the grain and stand firm, like rocks against the molds of the world. And have you ever had that kind of experience? Have you ever encountered somebody that tried to change your mind or challenge your beliefs? Or have you felt that pressure from the adversary, or even within your own mind as your natural man struggles to convince you to conform to the world? I believe that most will raise their hands.

Well, never fear, Paul is going to help us out. He’s going to give us the vision, or seek to inspire us to be ROCKS, to be servants of Christ. He’s really going to delineate or draw the line between the two types. And hopefully, we’re the type of Saints that want to be servants of Christ, not men pleasers.

SEARCH

And so, as I’ve studied the book of Galatians, I’ve found at least 9 different principles that can help us to recognize the difference between a man pleaser and a servant of Christ.

And I’m going to give you two options here for SEARCH ACTIVITIES. One, you could approach these nine points as a class study where you walk them through these verses and ask them the questions as a teacher. As you go, you can encourage them to write the differences between men pleasers and servants of Christ on this handout. OR you could divide your class into 9 groups with the same number of people in them inasmuch as that is possible. Then print out the following references and accompanying questions and distribute them to the different groups.

Then give them the following instructions.

· Read your questions.

· Read your reference looking for possible answers.

· Discuss answers to the questions and have somebody write down your group’s thoughts.

· Choose a spokesperson that will share your answers with the class.

And then give them about 3-5 minutes to do the activity, and then go from group to group having the spokesperson share that groups thoughts. While they share, the rest of the class should follow along in those verses.

And to help you as the teacher, let me go through each of the questions with you and give you a brief thought or two on each one.

Group #1—Galatians 1:8-9

How does a Servant of Christ react when somebody tells them they don’t need to live a certain commandment, or that the church is wrong on some issue?

How do you think men-pleasers would react?

8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

9 As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

How does a servant of Christ react? They accurse it. Which is kind of a strong word. I don’t think means we curse people who oppose the gospel. But we don’t entertain it. We set it aside, we cut it off. Not the person, but the idea.

So if somebody comes along and tries to convince us that pornography is not a big deal. That nobody really gets hurt by it. That’s it’s just a normal, non-harmful indulgence of our sexual desire. We can cut that off. We can “accurse” that idea. No, I can’t accept that. And have no fear in standing firm in that conviction. Like a rock.

But what about Men-pleasers? They’re very concerned about what others think. They begin to wonder if the other side might actually be right as they entertain the thought. Men pleasers question the commandment.

Group #2—Galatians 1:11-12, 16

Where does a Servant of Christ get their beliefs, opinions, and views?

Where do men pleasers get them?

11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.

12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

And 16

16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:

So where do Servants of Christ get their beliefs? Not from man, but by revelation.

Whereas where do men-pleasers get them? From flesh and blood.

I guess we all have to decide where we are going to go for our beliefs and opinions. You can choose God or google, Faith or Facebook. Christ or the crowd, Revelation or Reporters, The Spirit, or celebrities. Paul encourages us to go to Jesus Christ, not flesh and blood.

Group #3—Galatians 2:2

(Before Paul decided to go out and preach he went to Jerusalem to talk with Peter and the other Apostles to make sure that he was doing the right thing)

So: Where does a Servant of Christ turn to know if he should do something or not?

Where do men pleasers turn?

2 And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.

Where does a Servant of Christ turn for confirmation on what he should believe or do? The prophets and apostles. Paul felt from the Spirit what he thought he should do but he also went a step further. He wanted to confirm that his preaching wasn’t in vain. So he decided to make the journey all the way to Jerusalem to confer with the leaders of the church before he acted. He made checking with the prophets a part of his decision-making process. So should we.

If you have a decision to make and you’re not quite sure which way to go, check with the words of the prophets. So, should I go see this movie? Well, what would the brethren say? If President Nelson were in the room, how do you imagine he would respond?

What are my thoughts and feelings on LGBTQ issues? Well, what do the brethren say? They surely can offer me some guidance.

On the other hand, Where do men-pleasers go for confirmation? They look to their friends, their coworkers, the majority. What do most people think? Unfortunately, the crowd isn’t always right. There are many examples from history where what the majority believed was simply not true. For many years, the majority thought that the sun revolved around the earth. They were wrong. For many years, a majority felt that slavery was justified, they were wrong. The majority of scientists were sure for many years that time was an absolute constant, Einstein proved they were wrong. Just because a majority of people believe something, doesn’t make it true.

Group #4—Galatians 2:4-5

How do Servants of Christ react to those who try to pull them away from the gospel?

How do you think a man pleaser would react?

4 And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:

5 To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

How does a servant of Christ react? They give no place, no, not for an hour. They don’t suffer fools, they don’t spend a lot of their time digging through the opposition. If they do spend time searching out the opposing view, which is still ok in my book, they make sure that they spend at least an equal amount of time in gospel truth. If you are going to spend time reading anti-faith material, give the scriptures at least the same amount of time. If you are going to search the internet for criticisms of the church or the brethren, spend at least the same amount of time reading their General conference addresses. Or better yet, trust me and others who have been through that material, that it’s not really worth your time.

Men-pleasers on the other hand dive headlong into that kind of thing and spend hours digesting every possible argument against the gospel. They may go days or weeks without prayer or scripture study and in the process, their faith steadily erodes.

Group #5—Galatians 2:20

Servants of Christ live for who?

Who do you think Men-pleasers live for?

20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Servants of Christ, not surprisingly, live for Christ and more importantly, Christ lives in them. Jesus’ life and love flows through their veins. Do you remember that talk by Elder Uchtdorf entitled “We are His hands?”. May I also suggest that we are His heart, His mind, and His soul. His life is manifested through our thoughts, and our words, and our deeds. This is one of the most important ways in which Christ lives. When I sing “I Know That My Redeemer Lives” I don’t just mean that I know he was resurrected. I also mean that his gospel, his love, his atonement, his desire to serve and bless others’ lives within me.

Men pleasers live for the world and the world lives in them. They embrace its attitudes and therefore its actions. The world lives through them, therefore not only do they live in the world, but of the world.

Group #6—Galatians 3:27

Who do servants of Christ “put on” or try very hard to act like?

Who do men pleasers “put on” or try very hard to act like?

27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Servants of Christ “put on” Christ. We talked about this idea back in Romans 13. We “put on Christ” when we decide that we are going to try and act as he would act. We stop worrying so much about feeling a certain way, and begin focusing on acting a certain way. Like putting on a mask. We put on the mask of Christ. When we have a decision to make, we (as Doctrine and Covenants 6:36 says) look unto Christ in that thought, then if we pair that with another verse in the Doctrine and Covenants, we learn of him, and listen to his words, then we walk in the meekness of his Spirit. OR in other words we act as Christ would act. The more we do that, the more we put on the mask of Christ, the more we will change on the inside as well.

Men pleasers put on the world. They look unto the world in every thought. Rather than asking, What would Jesus do? They ask what does everybody else seem to be "doing?” Instead of asking “what is right” they ask, “what is popular?” Instead of asking ”what is best for all?” They ask, “what is best for me?”

Group #7—Galatians 4:16

How do men pleasers view church leaders or parents that confront them for their behavior?

How do you think servants of Christ view leaders or parents that confront them?

16 Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?

Men pleasers view those that confront them in love as their enemy. Inevitably, when we are making bad choices, those that truly have our best interest at heart, may feel the need to confront us. The men pleasers will often turn on those individuals, accuse them of being judgmental and trying to control them. Teenagers are especially susceptible to this mistake. Their parents become the enemy, their church leaders become the enemy, the prophet becomes the enemy. Instead they turn to their friends or the world for validation. Unfortunately, their friends and the world are usually more self-interested than sincere. They tell you what you want to hear in order to get what they want. I remember teaching a young woman who began a serious relationship with a young man that was not a good influence on her. But she defended him, saying that nobody understood that he was actually good for her, and truly loved her. Her parents confronted her, her bishop confronted her, her seminary teacher confronted her. Any how did she treat them? As the enemy, while this boy was her true friend. Long story short, she became pregnant. Shortly thereafter, the boy lost interest in her and ended the relationship. It was at that point where she finally recognized who her true friends were and her true enemies. The adversary is very good at blinding us in this way.

Now Servants of Christ recognize their true friends and true enemies. They are not blinded by the adversary. Certainly, servants of Christ also make mistakes and commit sin. They’re not perfect. But when they are confronted by parents and church leaders, they understand the motivation behind the correction or rebuke. They don’t make them their enemies because they’re willing to tell them the truth.

Group #8—Galatians 5:16

How does a servant of Christ walk?

How does a man pleaser walk?

16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

Servants of Christ Walk in the Spirit. What does walking in the Spirit look like? Remember the two sides of our nature that King Benjamin told us about? The natural man and the Saint. Those that walk in the Spirit do things that strengthen the Saint within them and weaken the natural man. They seek to feed the Saint, and starve the natural man. How do they feed the Saint? What are his favorite dishes? An order of obedience, with a side of sacrifice, a heaping plateful of prayer, sprinkled with service, spoonfuls of scripture study, all washed down with a glass of gratitude.

Men pleasers walk in the lust of the flesh. They feed the natural man, and starve the Saint. They give into their impulses, they become complacent in spiritual things. They feed it with a buffet of selfishness, pride, anger, ingratitude, and lust. A Chuck o Rama of sin.

Group #9—Galatians 5:19-23

What kinds of things does the attitude of men pleasing eventually lead to?

What kinds of things does being a servant of Christ lead to?

19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

By this point if you’re not sure whether you want to become a men pleaser or a servant of Christ, perhaps this will help you make that decision. These verses describe what lies at the other end of the two attitudes. If I decide to become a man pleaser, eventually it will lead to the things described in 19-21.

But if I become a servant of Christ, then I will receive love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.

So look closely at those two lists. Which do you want more of in your life? Then choose accordingly.

The Result

Well, after each group has shared its findings, you can bring everyone together to make one final point. What will be the final result of cultivating this “servant of Christ” mindset.

The incredible thing about being a servant of Christ is that you don’t stay a servant forever. God has a greater plan in store for you. He never intended us to just be merely servants in his kingdom. What do servants of Christ eventually become according to Galatians 4:6-7.

6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

What do we become? Sons and daughters of God. And not in the sense that we’re all children of God, or spirit children of our Heavenly parents, but true sons and daughters in his kingdom. That bear the family resemblance. That take on the qualities of our parents rather than the world around us. And we become heirs of God through Christ. An heir is someone who receives an inheritance from their parents or grandparents. God has some great blessings to pass on to us—quite a heritage to bestow. And what does he have to pass on to us? His power, his character, his way of life. This is God’s hope and desire for every one of us. It’s our destiny. He doesn’t expect us to stay mere mortals. He intends to make us into Gods. Beings like Him. But we can never fulfill that destiny if we’re obsessed with pleasing and following the world.

TRUTH

If I seek to be a servant of Christ rather than a man pleaser, then I will become a Son or Daughter of God with a divine inheritance.

LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES

What gives you strength to stand firm before the pressures and opinions of the world?

CONCLUSION

Well, as difficult as it is to go against the grain, I believe the rewards are more than worth the effort. The inheritance we stand to receive is of a far greater value than anything we give up by standing firm against the world. God will reward the strong. Therefore, we must be SERVANTS OF CHRIST, not MEN PLEASERS. We must be ROCKS, not JELLY PEOPLE.

Now there’s more to the book of Galatians than that one thought. Galatians also has some great “Power Phrases” that are certainly worth our consideration. Here’s another quick lesson you could do to cover some of those great power phrases.

ICEBREAKER

This icebreaker for this lesson does double duty as a search activity as well. Have your students look up the verses on the left and then try to match them to the picture they feel best represents the message of that verse.

3:1 The match is F. The witch’s hat and broom with the power phrase being: Who hath bewitched you?

4:18 The match is D. The “Good Things” sign. The power phrase: But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing.

5:1 The match is C. The chains breaking. The power phrase: Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free.

6:1 The match is A. The helping hand being extended. The power phrase: If a man be overtaken in a fault, restore such a one

6:3 The match B. The stick figure with his chest puffed out. In a prideful stance. The power phrase here: If a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself

6:7 The match is E. The corn field. The power phrase there: What ye sow you shall also reap.

I would write all those power phrases up on the board, or display a slide with each of them and then invite them to pick their favorite verse from that list or the one that intrigues them the most. Then give them some time to study or ponder it a little more deeply and then to be ready to share why they like it or what they learn from it. Give them about 3-4 minutes to pick and prepare themselves. Then either call on some to share or ask for volunteers. Also be ready and willing to share some of your thoughts as well.

And a quick teacher suggestion. One way to get students to share other than just waiting for volunteers every time is to tell them that you are going to randomly select some of them to share. But you can do it in a number of creative or fun ways. The classic is to put each of their names on a separate popsicle stick and then pull one of the sticks out of a cup or your pocket. Whoever’s name is chosen is assigned to share. I call them the “Sticks of Destiny” in my class, although my students sometimes refer to them as the “Sticks of Doom”.

I’ve also done this as well more recently as my high school students sometimes view the popsicle stick idea as too primary-ish. I discovered that you can order a deck of cards that are completely blank. A deck of blank cards. And then I just write my students names on the faces of those blank cards. Then I invite a student to pick a card, any card, and whoever’s name is selected is the one who is assigned to share. I’ll put an Amazon link in the video description below if you are interested in that idea. (https://amzn.to/465YuSu)

Or, one more idea. If you have an internet connection where you teach, you can go to the following website where you can type in each of your students names into a wheel, and then spin the wheel by clicking on it. The name of the student that the wheel lands on is the one to share. I’ll put a link to that website in the video description below, although, there are ads that pop up on that website, so keep that in mind if you choose to use it. (https://www.classtools.net/random-name-picker/)

But let’s take a look at each of these power phrases together.

3:1

O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

I like the word bewitching, in this verse. Satan is good at what he does. I sometimes refer to him as the greatest magician. He is good at bewitching foolish people, like the Galatians. I’m a bit of an amateur magician myself and I know how it works. The goal of magic is to deceive your audience. To make things appear differently from what they really are. Satan is a master at this. A little sleight of hand here a puff of smoke there and voila, commandments look like restrictions, scripture looks like ancient irrelevant scribblings and prophets appear to be spiritual tyrants rather than spiritual giants, And the greatest trick of all, he’s so good, he can even make evil look good, and good look evil. My advice, don’t fall for it. A few years back there was a show on TV called “Magic’s greatest secrets finally revealed”. It made a lot of magicians angry because they showed everyone the secrets behind some of Magic’s most popular illusions. Well, guess what, we have something like that too. The scriptures could also be titled “Satan’s greatest secrets finally revealed. They show us his ways, we learn from the mistakes of those he was able to deceive and manipulate, or we learn by the example of righteous scripture heroes who were able to resist him. Study them, and you won’t be fooled.

4:18

18 But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you.

Now you all know the Doctrine and Covenants version of this verse right? Yep Doctrine and Covenants 58:27 Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;

I love this idea. We should be zealously, anxiously engaged in doing something good. And it doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be a spiritual endeavor all the time. Just get out there and do something good. Develop your talents, do an act of service, educate yourself, work, fix something, get involved with some challenging project. For all the complaining we do about work, or school, or exercise, it has been proven in numerous studies that people are happier when they are engaged in some kind of active endeavor. That we actually don’t find as much enjoyment in passive entertainment as we think we do. That doesn’t mean that we don’t need time for rest, relaxation, and yes, even some mindless internet surfing or video game. But instead of spending 3 hours playing Fortnite, try playing for one, and then go spend time with your family, instead of taking a four-hour nap on Sunday, take a 1-hour nap, then go visit some relatives, or the retirement home. Instead of endlessly scrolling though Instagram, scroll for half an hour, then go out and shoot some hoops. If you want to be happier, more productive, more fulfilled in life, get out and do something good.

5:1

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

God is all about freedom and liberty, while Satan is all about bondage. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that commandments and obedience and rules are actually restricting your freedom, but they are the exact things that create it. What are commandments other than the instruction book for happiness. That doesn’t mean that doing the right thing doesn’t come with a cost. Doing the right thing is usually harder in the short term, but in the long run it leads to more and more freedom. Doing the wrong thing is usually easier in the short term, but restricting in the long term. A good metaphor for this would be exercising and eating right, in the short term it’s harder, but in the long run, it makes you more and more free, active, healthy, and increases your chances of having a longer life. On the other hand, it’s easier to be lazy and eat junk food, but in the long run leads to disease, lethargy, and a shortened life span. It’s the same with spiritual matters. The more righteous you become, the freer you become, the more wicked, the more limited. That’s one of Satan's most effective tricks! He promises you freedom saying things like “The church has too many rules, too much restriction, you going to let a bunch of old men in Salt Lake run your life! Go be free, do whatever feels good, go with the flow, and all the while he’s chuckling and wrapping you up in chains. Ask the person addicted to drugs, pornography, gambling, or alcohol how free the feel. The man in prison because he lived a life of dishonesty, how free he feels? Ask the young man and young woman who have broken the law of chastity, and now they are going to be teen parents, how free they feel. Satan hates agency, and he hates freedom, he tried to destroy it in the pre-mortal life, and he is still trying to destroy yours now. Don’t fall for it! Don’t let him bewitch you!

6:1

Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

So what do we do with somebody who has made a mistake? Who has sinned, who has strayed from the church, or is not making the best decisions. Do we abandon them? Do we walk away saying we can’t afford to be tainted by their poor choices? If they have been overtaken in a fault, seek to restore them. Try to help them. Be a support, be a friend. But there is a caution, he says to consider yourself though, lest thou also be tempted. Be careful that you don’t get sucked into their world and end up making the same mistakes. So if somebody I love or who is my friend starts to make bad choices, do I seek to restore them, or do I watch out for myself lest I be tempted. I think it depends. If somebody falls into the raging river, what is the worst way to save them? Jumping in yourself and trying to pull them out, you may drown also. The best way to help them is to stay on the shore and throw something to them, or reach out for them from a strong footing. In a spiritual sense, If you have reached out your hand to that person who is struggling and you are lifting them, then hold on with all your might and seek to restore that individual. But if at any time you feel that they are pulling you down, that you aren’t strong enough to lift them, but rather you find yourself slipping, I think that is the time to let go. As hard as that may be.

6:3

3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

This is such a hard thing for us to do sometimes. It’s very easy for us to think that we are something. One of Satan’s greatest tools in deceiving the righteous is pride. A prideful person really struggles to look up to God because he is always spending so much time looking down on others. Whenever I feel tempted to think that I’m something, that I’m better than somebody else, that I’ve made it, I try to remember Galatians 6:3, and it’s true, I’m nothing, anything I’ve been able to accomplish is because my Heavenly Father has made it possible.

6:7

7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

The law of the harvest. If you plant potatoes, you are not going to grow watermelons, if you plant weeds, you are not going to grow flowers. If all you plant is negative thoughts, and a pessimistic attitude, don’t be surprised if your life is miserable. If you plant the seed of faith, you will reap a testimony. If you plant the seed of love, you will reap love from others. If you plant the seed of hate, you will reap more hate. If you plant the seed of mercy, you will receive mercy, but if you plant the seed of being judgmental, you will reap judgment. if you plant nothing, you will grow nothing. God does not operate on the “getting something for nothing” policy. That is why stealing is wrong, that is why the church opposes gambling, I think that’s part of why pornography is wrong, it’s sexual gratification without committing to another person. Also drugs and alcohol, it’s instant feelings of happiness, without needing to do the work of living your life in a way that produces happiness naturally. We could go on and on with examples like this. You reap what you sow. So sow wisely, and the harvest will come.

And there you have it, some powerful power phrases from the book of Galatians to consider. I mean, you could make an entire lesson out of each one of those verses individually, but I like this approach because it allows you to cover all of them at least in brief.