Which Will You Employ

James Allen once asked a rhetorical question. He wrote, The will to evil and the will to good are both within thee, which wilt thou employ?

I know he asked this in an old stuffy form of the English language, but you've got to admit, it's a darn good question. So which will it be? And careful now before you answer, because doing right can be costly.

Isaiah says by the time a child turns twelve years old, he or she is able to make moral decisions (Is. 7:15). So the question is not can we do it; it's will we do it. Will we choose to do what we feel is right even when it costs us, or even when no one else agrees with us?

The actor, Edward James Olmos, said, "Life has a tendency to teach what's right and what's wrong, and you learn it from experience. Trust, integrity, commitment – we must have that. If we have that, then we have everything." And Maya Angelou, "If we are honest and fair, then we are known by that. If we're not, alas, we're known by that as well. What we want to do is do right, but you have to say it. You have to show it, and not stop." Like they say in the Union Bank slogan, "Doing right. It's just good business."

The next time you are conscious of the will to evil and the will to good scuffling deep in your soul, remind yourself you have a choice, and do good. You'll feel better in the morning.