When I studied Matthew 19 this week, there were many things that caught my attention. I was especially struck by the directness of the teachings of the Savior from this particular chapter. The chapter begins with Christ teaching the people about marriage. In a world where the main principles of marriage as created by God are constantly being challenged, I found it very comforting to read the words of the Savior and how He chose to teach about marriage. There were many people in those times who wanted to know the Savior's teachings on marriage and He taught them, "have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, for this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?" (Matthew 19:4-9). There were also many questions brought up by the people concerning divorce and what the Savior taught about it. He taught, "whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery" (Matthew 19:9). Each of these teachings are extremely clear and very powerful.
Another point from this chapter that I felt the Savior made very clearly and directly was the importance of not holding worldly possessions in a higher position in our lives than God. When the man asked Jesus what more he needed to do than all that he had done already to show his love for God and the gospel, Jesus told him that he needed to leave all of his possessions behind and follow Him. The man was unable to do so and left the presence of the Savior. I felt that this was an extremely direct and clear teaching of the Savior as well.
I feel that when the Lord is as straight forward about a specific teaching as He was about His teachings of marriage, divorce, and not worshipping worldly possessions, it is very important that we heed those teachings in our lives.
