THE SUPREME WILL AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHARACTER.
By Roderick S. Owen
God has established his will as supreme, and requires on the part of every creature a perfect obedience to it in even the most minute details. This he has abundantly taught in his word, not only by commanding obedience, but also by giving repeated examples of punishments inflicted for disobedience in matters to human minds of seemingly small import. But is not this an arbitrary course on the part of God? and does it not greatly abridge the liberties of his creatures? Why is God so particular? Why does he demand such entire submission to his will? Order is said to be the first law of heaven, and Inspiration tells us that “God is not the Author of confusion, but of peace.” 1 Cor. 14:33. It is evident from this that God desires perfect harmony in all his universe, and unbroken accord among all his creatures. But this condition will be found only where there is established a fixed and uniform rule of action, accompanied by an entire compliance to the same on the part of all. All confusion is but the result of differences of opinion which find expression in discordant actions. Hence it is necessary that a supreme will be established and perfect submission to the same required. Since this rule of action is to control every intelligent creature, great wisdom should be employed in marking it out. And since God is the all-wise One, and his will must be the expression of the sum total of all wisdom, therefore his will should be the one established. The truly wise father is impartial, seeking the highest good for each one of his children. Therefore God, as the all-wise father of all, points out in his will that course of action which, if followed, will ultimately result in the greatest possible good to all. In following this course, then, is our liberty abridged? What is true liberty? It is not, as some say, “the right to do as I please.” But it is, in God's sight, in the highest sense, the right to do that which will result in my highest good. True liberty, therefore, is found only in perfect submission to the will of God. The psalmist sounded the keynote to the whole question when he said, “I will walk at liberty; for I seek thy precepts.” Ps. 119:45. And he whom the Son makes free is free indeed, for when Christ sets one at liberty, it is done by creating him anew unto good works, by the renewing of the mind, by writing the6law of God in the heart, by imparting to us the divine nature, so that we will conform to his commandments. But is it not selfish in man to seek his own highest good?—Yes, if he seeks it for self alone, but not if he seeks it in God's way; for his highest good is simply the highest possible development of all the right powers of his being. This will render him the greatest possible blessing to all about him, and in this condition he will reflect the most glory and honor upon his Creator. “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” Rev. 4:11. It was not selfish for God to seek his own pleasure in the creation of all things; for his pleasure, as we have seen, is the highest good of all, the perfect development of each one. And when every one shall seek the perfect development of his powers, that he may be able to contribute to the best good of all about him, then all will be in one accord with God's purpose, and harmony will exist everywhere. O, how the thought thrills the heart, and how we long to see that time! For envy then shall flee away,
From the clear light of that glad day,
And hate and strife shall not be seen,
But happiness shall reign supreme.
Peace shall abide on every hill,
And joy shall dwell by every rill,
And love shall flow in channels broad
Throughout the universe of God. And this condition of harmony will be experienced when all shall have developed characters in keeping with the divine will, providing his will is settled and unchanging. Upon this condition only could the creature proceed with any assurance of success; for should there be at any time a change, he would find himself out of harmony both with the Creator and with those who should develop under the revised will. But we are persuaded that God's will, like himself, is the same to-day, yesterday, and forever, without variableness or shadow of turning. We now come to consider the development of character. Character differs from reputation. Reputation is what a man appears to be. Character is what he is. A man may love his reputation, but not his character. Christ was made of no reputation (Phil. 2:7), but his character was untarnished. Only known acts, or others' attitude, affects our reputation; but every act of ours affects our character. Most men are influenced in their actions by both their reputation and their character. But the man upon whom you can rely is the one whose every act rightly represents his character, independent of his reputation. Ultimately, when the character is fully developed, it will control every act, and then the reputation will be the true reflection of the character. A character is a bundle of habits. A habit is a bundle of acts. An act is the representative of a thought. Thus, act, habit, and character all are the outgrowth of thought. To form right characters we must learn to think aright. But we are affected by the thought whether it be expressed in an outward act or not. Thus the man who determines to do a wrong but never has the opportunity has marred his character with the wrong. For this reason God has said, “As a man thinketh in his heart so is he,” and, “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer.” Then let us always remember that in the secret worship of the mind we are constantly building character. Again, if a man should be overcome and forced to perform an act against his will, he would not really be involved in that act, since he is only an instrument, a mere machine, in the hands of his superiors in power; and since the powers of his mind are not involved in such an act, it is evident that it could not affect his character in the line of the act. But he is affected by it, for the rebellion of the mind in not consenting to the act will develop character in the opposite direction; thus it is clear that God can not assist us in developing right characters by compelling us to do right. And these considerations show that character is developed only by the exercise of the will in choosing. Every evil thought retained is a wrong choice, while every good thought cherished is a right choice. Consequently, to develop right characters, the mind must be entirely submissive to the will of God, so that we will think the thoughts of God. In keeping with this we read, “Casting down imaginations [reasonings], and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Cor. 10:5. Then since it all depends upon our choice, upon the attitude of our will upon every question, it is clear that the man who continually holds his will on God's side is advancing, even though his way may be dotted with failures because of his weaknesses and surroundings. If his choice is always to do right, ultimately, by the grace of God, he will find his character so developed that he will rise above his surroundings and overcome his weaknesses. Then we conclude that since God desires perfect harmony among all his intelligent creatures, and since this end could be attained only by uniformity of action, it was therefore necessary to establish his will as supreme, since only by willing obedience is right character developed. It is therefore necessary that God give to every creature the power of choice.