Pie!

I love pie. It’s great. Thanksgiving is no doubt one of my favorite holidays because of it. This is actually relevant (don’t worry :) )
As we were walking downtown we met a man who gave us this parable:
(paraphrasing) “If I had pie I wouldn’t just choose a select few to give some big pieces to. I would cut it into 30+ pieces and give it to as many people as I could.”
 That man has a great heart. I think we all feel like we want to fix the problems in the world and we should give what we can. We should give our time and our love, and whatever we feel we can spare. There have been many who desire the end of world hunger and we want world peace and for everyone to be taken care of. Of course! But how?
As I was thinking about what this man said, this quote came to my mind from the April General Conference, “One of the distinguishing characteristics of this inspired gospel-centered endeavor (The Church Welfare Program) is its emphasis on personal responsibility and self-reliance. President Marion G. Romney explained: “Many programs have been set up by well-meaning individuals to aid those who are in need. However, many of these programs are designed with the shortsighted objective of ‘helping people,’ as opposed to ‘helping people help themselves.’”
The Lord has given us so many tools. We each have the means to be successful. We can make of our lives so much more than what we can comprehend, but it all comes down to our own effort.
 I love the parable of the talents in the New Testament. This is quoted from Elder Rasband in his talk, “Thou Good and Faithful Servant”:
“Jesus told the story of a master who gave each of his three servants a sum of money. The amounts were set according to each servant’s previously demonstrated capabilities. The man then left for a long time. When he returned, he asked each of these servants to report what he had done with the money.
The first two servants revealed they had doubled his investment. “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord,” was the master’s reply.
The third servant then came trembling before his master. He had already heard what the others had reported and knew that he could not give a similar report. “I was afraid,” the servant said, “and went and hid thy talent in the earth.” The master was upset. “Thou wicked and slothful servant, . . .” he said. Then he commanded, “Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.””
The Lord has an endless supply and many of us have already been given what we need, if we just take the time and effort to go out and make of what we have been given. As we turn to the Lord and make of what we’ve been given, we will have sufficient for our needs.
There are those who demand and claim the “right” to a slice of pie when they could really make their own and have more to give in return!
Self reliance is an important but misunderstood principle in our society today. Dependence comes from laziness, selfishness, or perhaps lack in confidence in ourselves. Independence comes from determintation, work and faith. I’ve been learning that the Lord has great faith and trust in us. When we understand that we are children of God, we see that we are capable of so much. As Mark says, “...With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible. (Mark 10:27)”
I guess my moral of this story is, don’t give those in need a sliver of pie, give them a pie recipe!