What does it actually mean that “the natural man is an enemy to God”? Kevin and Justin sit with Mosiah 3:19 and start pulling apart words they’ve read dozens of times—natural man, enemy, yield, submissive, meek, patient, and even “inflict.” Along the way, they wonder whether putting off the natural man is less about becoming perfect and more about learning to pause, notice the Spirit, and consciously choose a different direction. A simple yield sign becomes an unexpected picture of discipleship: slow down, notice the traffic, and choose to enter the flow. The conversation moves through temptation, pride, marriage, patience, trials, parenting, and the difficult work of trusting God when His plan doesn’t look like ours. One verse. A whole lot to ponder.
“Unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit…”
That word—yields—stopped us.
In Mosiah 3:19, King Benjamin describes the natural man as an enemy to God and then gives us a picture of what becoming something different might look like.
But what exactly is the “natural man”? Does being an “enemy to God” mean we’re actively fighting against Him—or could it simply describe what happens when our choices move us away from Him?
And why yield?
That question leads Kevin and Justin into an unexpected analogy involving traffic signs, rivers, temptation, and the difference between being swept somewhere and consciously choosing a direction.
From there, the conversation explores what it might really mean to become “as a child”: submissive, meek, humble, patient, and full of love.
They also wrestle with one of the harder phrases in the verse:
“Willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him.”
Why would a loving God allow—or even use—hard things?
Justin shares a deeply personal realization about his own children and a thought that has changed the way he approaches their spiritual journeys:
They were God’s children before they were ours.
Maybe becoming like a child isn’t about knowing less.
Maybe it’s about trusting more.
Scripture: Mosiah 3:19
Ponder with us: Where might God be asking you to pause, yield, and consciously choose His direction instead of simply following your natural reaction?
Two dudes pondering the universe, one verse at a time.