The Power Of Human Will

9/6/18

Brandy, Addy, and Grace,

“There is no deficit in human resources; the deficit is in human will.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Human Will that accomplishes great things (not necessarily big things) is closely bound to Moral Courage. The Human Will that goes to the grave having accomplished little is bound to Laziness or Apathy.

There are some important words that we need to understand in this life:

• Human Will is that thing in our minds that allows us to determine what’s important and is worthy of our human resources (time, energy, money, etc…) by filtering everything we see around us through our values and principles (our morals). It’s Human Will that chooses that for which we are willing to live and die. For example, by my Human Will I joined the Marines, went to college, married your mother, chose to be your father, and decided to follow Jesus in Faith. My Girls, what’s your will? Where are you willing to invest your resources?
• Moral Courage is in our hearts and it allows us to live our lives according to our values and principles, even in the face of internal and external opposition (the battle between my will and competing/changing values – I’ll write more on that later). Where Human Will determines that which we’re willing to invest our lives, Moral Courage is what’s pumped by our hearts through our veins to keep Human Will alive. For example, it was/is Moral Courage that allowed me to serve in the Marines for seven years, complete the degrees I sought, and continually strive to be the best man of God, husband, and father I can be. My Girls, does your life need a boost of Moral Courage?
• Laziness is the mental determination (Human Will) where we decide not to invest our resources into anything of value (something that serves ourselves or others). For example, we have a generation in this country (of all ages) who waste their resources living vicariously through television shows and video games… they watch others do great things and/or they pretend to do great things through a joystick and pixel beings in make-believe lands, receiving a mental sense of accomplishment without actually doing anything of value. My Girls, is there any Laziness in your life that you need to deal with?
• Apathy lives in our hearts when we have the Human Will to do something but feel that our resources won’t make a difference. The result of apathy, much like Laziness, is nothing… Nothing changes within ourselves or around us, and the causes that we’re meant to fight for and the people that we’re meant to serve continue on to their disadvantage without us. For example, the thirsty, hungry, and homeless still surround us, despite a Calling to make a difference, and the spiritually lost still search for meaning in arid places despite the Calling from God to Be a Disciple and Make Disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). My Girls, is there anything in your life’s Calling that you’re not doing because of Apathy?

My Girls, I Hope and Pray that you will embrace your Human Will and have the Moral Courage to do great things in this life – that you will continually move in the direction of your God-given unique Purpose in this life, even in the face of great internal and external opposition.

Challenge Question: Where is your Human Will taking you TODAY?

God’s Word:  Joshua 24:14-16, John 1:12-13, Mark 8:34-37, and 1st Corinthians 10:13