The Moral Foundations Of Life

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“Beware of thinking of will as a faculty. Will simply means the whole nature active. We talk about people having a weak will or a strong will, it is a misleading idea. When we speak of a man having a weak will, we mean he is without any impelling passion, he is the creature of every dominating influence; with good people he is good, with bad people he is bad, not because he is a hypocrite, but because he has no ruling passion, and any strong personality knits him into shape. Will is the essential element in God’s creation of a man. I cannot give up my will: I must exercise it.” (source)

“The will to, means I must act; it is not sufficient to want to, to wish to, I must act on the wish instantly, no matter what it costs. Whenever the conviction of God’s Spirit comes there is the softening of the whole nature to obey; but if the obedience is not instant there will come a metallic hardening and a corrupting of the guidance of God.” (source)

“The ‘wish to’ simply sees the end of the desire and takes no account of the means to that end.” (source)

“Want is a conscious tendency towards a particular end. My wants take shape when something awakens my personal life. An invalid if left alone has no wants, he wants neither to live nor to die; but when he sees a person full of bounding physical health, a want to be like him is instantly awakened. Whatever awakens my person awakens a want. In this incident the presence of Jesus awakened a conscious want to follow Him, a want to be like Him.” (source)

“The wish ought to be followed by immediate obedience. I must take the wish and translate it into resolution and then into action; if I don’t, the wish will translate itself into a corrupting power in my life instead of a redeeming power.” (source)