It only takes a small amount of what is bad to disrupt a lot of what is good. Our association is no different. When on the path to righteousness (that is, what's morally and divinely correct) we cannot indulge in negative company, negative behavior and quite importantly - negative thought. Yes, every thought that enters the mind should be scrutinized by wisdom. Each thought is a seed that can quickly grow. The fruit that is produced from these seeds oftentimes become actions we make either in the direction of virtue or of our own fleshly desires. Maintain every thought as if you truly believed the Heavenly Father is directly above you.
In this sense, we must continue to 'purify' ourselves allowing no poisons to infiltrate our temple (mind and body) - starting with the things we let enter our minds. Extinguish the very flames of negative thoughts and replace them with affirmations, hope, faith, love and wisdom. Think thoughts of Him and of His divine purpose - He who granted you the ability to even think! Putting away what we want and thinking in terms of what He wants.
The process is not simple. If it were, all would be perfect and without sin. We must strive for these things and work continuously, even diligently towards them in the same manner we seek other pleasures in life. The difference in striving for spiritual balance as opposed to material or social and economic balance is that spiritual balance affords us an entire lifetime of reward whereas the other things are quickly and easily replaced, deleted, upgraded, thrown away, and even put away or forgotten.
- Paul Charles
"Whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty at all but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water bubbling up to impart everlasting life.” - John 4:14
