The Word of Wisdom that teaches us to avoid coffee, tea, tobacco, and alcohol comes with a promise that if we live this commandment we will "run and not be weary, and walk and not faint." This has been one commandment that I have been able to keep. I have never smoked a cigarette or tasted coffee. I did taste tea once at a Japanese cultural event in school. I have never tasted wine or hard liquor. I do admit that one time when I was really young (maybe about 7 years old) my friend got me to taste beer. I took one small sip and couldn't stand it. I have never taken any kind of illegal drug. Though some people say my life is really restricted because I don't use any of those things, it is really just the opposite. I am totally free of any addictions to these substances and so am totally free to make decisions about what I take into my body.
When I was in high school I ran on the track team. I was a hurdler. This run involved having to "jump" over 10 hurdles during the race to the finish line. I was pretty fast and gradually got better times as I mastered the technique of getting over hurdles. I worked very hard during practice after school each day. But I wasn't the fastest hurdler on the team. There was another boy who always beat me. To make things worse, he was a boy who was lazy during practice and who was known to get drunk on Friday nights. It didn't seem fair to me that I, who lived the Word of Wisdom and worked hard, would always lose to a guy who was lazy and a partier. But I eventually came to understand that the promise that I would 'run and not faint' was not a promise that I would always win races. Sometimes the blessings of living the commandments don't come right away. Sometimes the blessings come gradually over years. The blessing of living the Word of Wisdom has been a lifetime of confidence that the Spirit can be with me because of my obedience. It has been a lifetime of knowing that I am in control of my body. It is well worth it.
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