The will is also a part of the soul. We have already covered the matter concerning the mind and the emotion of the soul. With the mind, the emphasis is on the comprehension and understanding of the soul concerning matters or things; with the emotion, the emphasis is on the likes and dislikes of the soul, and with the will, the emphasis is on the decisions and determinations of the soul. For example, with regard to a certain matter or thing, whether or not you decide to have it, to choose it, or to refuse it, these judgments and decisions are the functions of the will. Although the mind occupies a very great part of the soul, it is not the governing organ. The governing organ, the presiding part of the soul, is the will. Determining whether one likes a certain thing or not is the function of one’s emotion. His comprehension concerning a certain matter and his understanding regarding a certain thing are the faculties of his mind. Having comprehended and understood it, he likes or dislikes it, but will he choose it or refuse it? This will be decided by the will. Hence, the final deciding organ is the will. In a proper man, the will should rank higher than the mind and the emotion. It should stand in the highest place.
In a normal situation, a man would use his mind to understand and comprehend and his emotion to desire or hate, but the final deciding and determining function belongs to the will. Let us consider someone who comes to listen to the gospel. The first organ he uses is the mind. He listens, understands, and comprehends with his mind. Having understood and comprehended, he uses the next organ, which is the emotion. After his mind is touched, the Holy Spirit penetrating through his mind touches his conscience. Once his conscience is in operation, his emotion is influenced and he wants to believe in the Lord. Thus, he feels sorry about his past life, and his heart begins to incline toward God. At that moment, he needs to exercise his will to decide and determine to believe in the Lord. Hence, it is the will that presides in man. It serves as the presiding organ and decides matters. Although his mind understands something, and his emotion likes it, he is helpless if his will does not choose it. The will is the final deciding organ.
There are many people who act as if they do not have a will. There are also many who act as if they do not use their will. They put their will in subjection to their emotion and also allow it to be obliterated by their mind. Such men are not proper. One who is without a will or who does not use his will is just like a ship without a rudder. Suppose a ship has no rudder or does not use the one it has. That ship will go wherever the wind blows and will thus be without direction. People who act entirely according to the impulse of their emotion, without any control, are just like a ship without a rudder or a car without a brake. This is very dangerous.
The will should be the controlling organ in our soul. The reason someone loses his temper in a fierce way or commits a crime is because his emotion is too active while his will lacks the controlling power. The reason that someone can become so exhilarated he is beside himself and goes beyond the bounds of a normal behavior is also due to the lack of a controlling will. The prayer life of such a one fluctuates with the blowing of the wind. When there is some kind of atmosphere carrying him, he prays; otherwise, he does not pray. His will does not have the controlling strength. This is true both with his personal prayers and his prayers in the meetings. When his emotion is aroused, he will just pray his own prayers according to his own feelings with no concern for the flow of the meeting. However, if his emotion is not aroused, he will not pray at all. Both his public and private prayer life are altogether subject to the stirrings of his emotion and are not under the control of his will. This kind of person cannot be a man of prayer.
The will, subject to the control of the spirit, should be the presiding part of the soul. This is the position of the will.
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