Why bother?

Why bother?

I mean, really?  What's the point?  Why go through all the troubles of life?  Why suffer?  Why do we work so hard to get people to do what they really don't want to do?  We get up, we go to work, we jump through all sorts of hoops, and in the end we're a day older and not a lot smarter.  We've given up twenty-four hours of our life, usually in a place that we don't want to be, doing something unpleasant for people we may or may not despise.

Why bother?  Why did we choose to come to this miserable sphere we call earth?  Why do we keep at this?

Well, why do you work?  What do you get from it?  Hopefully, you're being paid for your labors.  The pay is a good reason, right?

Why do people run marathons?  I would be miserable!  I'd be dying by mile three, and there's still eighteen miles to go!  But isn't the prize worth it?

I saw a tee-shirt in Lindenwold once.  It said, "Working for God: The pay isn't that great, but the retirement plan is out of this world!"  The statement invites a chuckle, and the best part is that it's true.

So long as we keep our eyes on the prize of eternal life, we're able to keep going.  God has many promises for us, and I know that it's worth it.  We might question God at times.  Why does bad stuff happen?  Why would he let someone die?  If instead of focusing on all the bad things, we should focus on the good, and even more on what happens afterwards.  God loves us, and he wants what's best for us.

And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. ~Doctrine and Covenants 122:7

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosever believeth in him shall not perish, but shall have eternal life. ~John 3:16

I know that this is true.  God loves us, and if we will focus on the prize, we will win.