Freeing Pharaoh

I often heard, “Christ never said it would be easy, only that it would be worth it.” But Christ did say, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). This promise puzzled me. If life feels heavy, where is the ease? Through years of prayer, frustration, and failed attempts to change, I sought the core of our agency: where do we choose? How do we truly change? Willpower, medication, and even desperate pleas to God didn’t lift my existential dread or stop my misery. Then I discovered the Path to Action from Crucial Conversations , which revealed that all my emotions come from stories I tell myself—and the heaviest story was blame. By choosing better stories, we yoke ourselves with Christ, living with the peace He promised. The Weight of Blame For decades, I carried a crushing burden. As a child, I carelessly killed a pet hamster and lied to my parents about it. I told myself I was a “liar and a murderer,” a story that colored my life with shame. I blamed my parents—especi...

Growing up in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I’ve always believed that “faith without works is dead” ( James 2:17 ). But recent debates on X about faith versus works—some championing faith alone, others insisting on works—made me pause. The arguments often felt like an I-It clash, with both sides dismissing each other rather than seeking understanding. This prompted me to ask: Why does faith need works, and why do works need faith? I wanted answers grounded in how we live, not just theology. The Path to Action from Crucial Conversations showed me that faith shapes our actions through the stories we tell, while The Anatomy of Peace revealed that works without faith are empty. Preparing this post deepened my respect for the “faith alone” view, with its focus on grace, and showed me that faith and works together reflect the heart’s truth. Faith and works are often debated—some champion faith alone as sufficient, while others see faith and works as deeply intertwine...