A set of keys were found near our apartment the other day, and it made me think how important keys are in our lives. Whoever lost them is probably frustrated, wondering where they are or where they might have left them. They had put a piece of tape on each key identifying what it opens, but failed to put their identification on them or even an address or a phone number. Keys are so important for so many reasons.
But like everything else that becomes a part of us, something that is with us every day and most of the time, we begin to get care- less and take them for granted. Yet, without our keys, we cannot get into our home without breaking a window; we can’t get into our cars and drive them away. If some of us own a business, we can’t open up without our keys. Keys provide us access to the most important places and things in our lives. So, why are we so careless and nonchalant with them as if they were no more than a comb or a hankie in our pockets?
There are a lot of different kinds of keys: a special word, a touch, a look may be the key to another’s heart. What an important thought, to think of having a key to another person, to have access to them and their very private life, their secrets, their love and even to their possessions. What a responsibility! What trust and what an obligation to protect them, even their reputation. Then, of course, when we have their key, that usually means that they have ours as well. We have the keys to each other. Those keys open us up to each other. To then violate that trust by sharing weaknesses or oddities with yet another person may cause us to lose the key to that person, who may never let us in again. Personal keys can be given and taken away.
Certain behaviors or accomplishments may open doors (a key) to things we thought we could only dream about. Hard work may open the door to a better job or position. I remember as a youth of seventeen, I got a job as a hod carrier for a Masonry Company. I mixed mortar, built scaffolding, hauled brick where ever the brick layers needed them and cleaned the brick walls when they were done.
I worked really hard and one day the foreman came to me and said, “Emil, you can make more money for me laying brick than what you are doing, get up there on the wall and lay bricks!” He gave me a few essential tools, a trowel, a level, a joiner, and I fumbled my way through the first day. Nothing had ever been so awkward as a trowel in my hand that first time. Eventually, I became a Journeyman bricklayer. My hard work as a hod carrier was a key to a better paying job.
I was a fifteen year old ninth grade student when I decided to drop out of school. I went right to work at various sundry jobs, eventu- ally the one mentioned above. After joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as a twenty year old Military Policeman during the Korean Conflict, I realized the importance of education. Education would be the key to a more interesting and fulfilling life. That key eventually opened a much larger door for me as I completed a PhD and became an administrator at a large public university. There are many keys; keys allow us access to homes, cars, and many other things in life. Keys may be cut from metal, forged by hard work, created by intellectual pursuits. Keys may be forged by friendships that may even lead to romance and matrimony.
Probably the most important keys are those that bind a couple, a family, and even families together for all time and all eternity. These are the keys commonly referred to as the keys of the Kingdom of God. These keys are only given to certain individuals, those selected by God such as Peter, the Chief Apostle of the Lord, while the Lord dwelt here on earth. The Lord said unto Peter;
“And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19) Here the word ‘keys’ was mentioned because they open heaven’s doors to all those who have fought the good fight, completed the essential ordinances and are now worthy to enter His presence.
Our responsibility is to follow God’s plan of progression and thereby obtain the keys that will give us access to His kingdom. We then have to carefully maintain those keys so we don’t lose them through a moment of weakness. God bless us to know the importance of keys, earthly keys and heavenly keys, as well.