That the house be not broken up

In Joseph Smith--Matthew, Jesus tells some of the signs of His coming. One part recently caught my attention.

46 And what I say unto one, I say unto all men; watch, therefore, for you know not at what hour your Lord doth come.
47 But know this, if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to have been broken up, but would have been ready.
48 Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh.
49 Who, then, is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
50 Blessed is that servant whom his lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing; and verily I say unto you, he shall make him ruler over all his goods. (Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:46-50

if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to have been broken up—This could be applied to the disintegration of the family. If we knew when Satan was going to attack, we could keep that disintegration from happening. But wait! We do know. The prophets have warned us and continue to warn us. We know how mothers are being attacked. We know how fathers are being attacked. We know how children are being attacked.

Also, since the house is spoken of in context of the church, the warning could also be to the church to watch so that it isn’t broken up (possibly by faction and dissention).

As for the servant who is made ruler over the household, this can be applied in a number of ways—parents, class teachers, presidencies, bishops, stake presidents, all the way to the prophet.

Giving meat in due season can be sharing with the hungry (and giving fast offerings). It can also be teaching and preaching doctrine when it is badly needed. (“Feed my sheep.”)

51But if that evil servant shall say in his heart: My lord delayeth his coming,
52And shall begin to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken,
53The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
54And shall cut him asunder, and shall appoint him his portion with the hypocrites; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (JS-Matthew 1:51-54)

It is and always has been a temptation to give up our standards and set aside our covenants and join in the wickedness that goes on around us. It’s made to appear so normal. But this leads to kicking against the pricks, losing the Spirit, and then persecuting the Saints, and fighting against God.

There may come a day when we will suffer persecution if we don’t go along with evil, when we will feel like giving in because things are so bad and Christ hasn’t come yet. This is why we are warned to be ready, to watch, and to give meat in due season, and to treasure up the word.

When I was reading through Joseph Smith—Matthew, it was very helpful to me to look for and highlight the instructions that Jesus gave for us to do to prepare. The signs of the Second Coming are undeniably scary, so focusing on what to DO is comforting.