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.

Bloom Where You Are Planted

In prophecy given after the Babylonian exile, Isaiah promised that Israel's children would sprout up like trees in the grass, like poplars beside channels of water (Isaiah 44:4). Drawing on that imagery, I would suggest that God intends for all us to grow up in our walk with him. If you need a biblical proof-text, take Paul's "God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do" (Ephesians 4:15 MSSG). If you prefer a source from outside the Bible, take the quote attributed to Francis de Sales, who said, "Bloom where you are planted." Grow up in Christ. Be real. Love yourself, and sprout up like flowers in the garden.

A Little Party

Fergie's 'A Little Party Never Killed Nobody' makes me want to test that theory to see if it is true. I think Fergie knows what she's talking about though, because it looks like she was born to fly the Let's Party! flag. "A little party never killed nobody, so we are going to dance until we drop – drop. A little party never killed nobody, right here, right now is all we got."  Now let me say before I go any farther: Count me in. I'd love to dance with Fergie until I drop, or until I am dropped by the unlucky soul who catches me doing it. I'm not a good dancer.

 

I love this song, but I just can't get my mind around that last line, "Right here, right now is all we got," because I believe we've always got some more. Some call it a second-chance; some label it reincarnation. I like to think of it as heaven. Another singer-songwriter who lived over 260 years ago named, Isaac Watts, put it this way: 

 

Oh! could we make our doubts remove,

These gloomy thoughts that rise,

And see that Canaan that we love

With unbeclouded eyes –

 

Could we but climb where Moses stood,

And view the landscape o'er,

Not Jordan's stream, nor death's cold flood,

Could fright us from the shore.

 

Now, I'll admit: Watts' song doesn't have the dance umph that Fergie's has, but he makes a good point. There's more to life than meets the eye, just waiting for anyone who hopes to see it. Go ahead – a little party never killed nobody. But just remember, there's more of life to come on the flip side.