Willfulness
Doing whatever it is “I” want. Making myself happy. Looking inside to My needs, wants and desires. Who cares about what might be best for everyone concerned? As long as I’m getting My way and I’m a happy camper. You only live once, right? 

People say a shift has occurred over the last few decades in our society. I don’t think so. People have always been and will always be Servants of Self.

In the past few weeks the Pastor at my church has been preaching a series titled “Discovering God’s Will.”

Here’s my take. Taken from a Rolling Stones song…”You can’t always get what you want.”

And that’s NOT a bad thing.

Because sometimes the thing you think you want is adverse to what God wants. People focus too much on the first line of the song. But keep listening…”if you try sometime, you get what you need.” Ah. There it is. 

Needs and wants. 

So the Preacher asked, What do you do when you know His will but you don’t want to do it? 

I’ll tell you. You wrestle with yourself. Your body says yes, but your mind says no. Your conscious goes to battle with itself and those little talking cartoon Angels and Devils appear on your right and left shoulders. Is it a sin if you know something is wrong and you go ahead and do it anyway? Yup! It is. And we pay for it in consequences. 

Explains why there is a “Highway to Hell” and only a “Stairway to Heaven.”

Ya think?!

The Bible says it is difficult to follow Gods will. Difficult to forgive others. Difficult to resist temptation. Difficult to give. Difficult to take direction. Difficult to step out of our comfort zone. Difficult to share our faith. 

A lot of things are difficult. Maybe we know we should continue our education, but we don’t. Because we are willful or just plain lazy???Later on, we have to live without a lot of things and we feel guilt because we cannot provide for others. But the consequences of those choices always circle back around. There’s your Karma. So stop bitching about it. You choose to go against the grain. 

I used to yell out as my teenage Dramamine would leave the house “Make good choices!” 

We all should. But it’s not easy. 

Here was his parting shot…Gods will is hard…Do it anyway.

Willfully yours,

Nadine Bodine

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