We all have experienced happy people, happy moments as well as sad people, and sad moments. We are all involved in the world, and we describe moments based on our perception of it. We all have attended one occasion or the other, be it wedding, birthday, house warming, funeral, marriage, graduation, and so on. We are also aware of the institutions and activities that make life meaningful, like school, marriage, sports, entertainment, and others. Undoubtedly, we are all partakers of the events of life by experience or by information.
From all these experiences, how can you describe the world? A happy place? A sad place? Do you describe the people in your life as happy people? Do you describe yourself as a happy person? What are the attributes that describe your happiness?
The willpower in the context of this essay is the power to choose what to be and how to be in the midst of all the happenings in life, good or bad. It is the ability to make intentional choices in life, knowing that we can not control some occurences in life. It is the understanding that we are affected in life by the definition we give it.
Harold A. Buetow, a theologian and scholar, described willpower in his narration of the resurrection of Christ. According to him, Jesus exercised His willpower by snatching victory from the jaws of death through the power of God that is seen constantly in our daily lives. This means that we all have the same supernatural power that Jesus used, but the difference is in the demonstration. Jesus’s demonstration of willpower over death through His resurrection became the central mystery of christian faith.
Clearly, all the human inhabitants of the earth possess the willpower to exert significant influence in some life’s distinctive decisions. A person with a strong willpower confronts problems and exercises all the available means to surmount them, yet happy and patient in the process. Even when tempted to lose hope by either feeling abandoned or having so much to deal with at a time, he remains resilient.
The admonition of willpower is that we protect ourselves and the people around us against sufferings that are accepted so readily as inevitable. It empowers us to make healthy choices irrespective of the odds or obstacles in it. It inspires us to willfully lead a happy life against all odds.
From scriptural references, God permits us to choose, and he respects our choices. He does not enforce his will on us. Rather, he made clear the implications of every choice we make. The book of Deuteronomy 30:19 says, “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses.” Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life so that you and your descendants might live!
Therefore, there is a need to teach the young ones how to exercise their willpower rightfully in order to make meaningful choices in life. They need to be aware and to be conscious of how to resist short-term pleasures in order to achieve long-term benefits. How to build self-control over vain temptations. How to exert positive influences even when faces with negative pressures. How to suppress evil urges and embrace strong determination. How to delay gratification for a more fulfilling long-term reward.
Our major source of strength is from within. It is our responsibility to train and nurture it within before it encounters other external forces. The positive enforcement of willpower yields joy, love, peace, and fulfilment, which is Gods perfect will for us.
Amala Ann Unachukwu
