Psychological Matters

Thought: "You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love." Galatians 5:13 Anything I have successfully done has been the result of using my willpower. It is amazing what I have accomplished when I set my mind to it. For years, I secretly longed to play violin. I finally decided to do something about it and started taking lessons five years ago. I have stuck with it, despite not being easy. Many days I feel too busy or tired to practice, yet I have been pleasantly surprised at the payoff of my persistence. Thirty minutes of practice five to seven times a week has allowed me to now play concertos by Vivaldi and Handel. God gave us a fantastic gift when he empowered us with willpower. Our will not only enables us to be self-determined, but it also gives our life purposefulness. It gives shape to each day. We can decide to clean the house or to leave it a mess. We can decide t...

Thought: "Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord." Isaiah 1:18a I recently watched a trailer advertising a reality television show. It showed a woman pleading with an airline ticket agent to get on an overbooked airplane. She demanded she be allowed on the plane since it was the last flight of the day. She said she hadn't seen her 6-year-old son for the past several months and had to get home immediately. Over and over again, she screamed and pounded her fists on the ticket countertop to be allowed on the overbooked flight. As the story unfolded, she confessed she had been in drug rehab for the past six months. She claimed she needed to be with her young son since he couldn't understand the reason for his mother's absence. Her tirade became so severe that eventually security officers were called to contain her. Then the video clip ended. At first I felt sorry for the woman. I imagined she was inadvertently separated from her young boy. Then, as mo...