THE BATTLE OF THE WILLS

“My will be done” is the age-old sin. Ever since Eden, there is something deep in our bones that compels us to reach for forbidden fruit. We humans often feel as if we are held back and limited, and so in a show of force, we push the envelope on this universe and those around us. Thus, we break out in anger to get our way and show our resilience to the world. We also click and drink as well as do all sorts of other things that we claim to have control of. In short, we humans have a power-craze; we are obsessed with our will-power, and it leads to our unhappiness. The most severe symptom of our power-craze is the way our culture views children. Children, by their nature, represent self-sacrifice; no one wants to change a diaper at 2:00AM. It is no accident, therefore, that our culture favors and promotes abortion, contraception, and very small families.
 
Now compare our culture with Christ’s example, which is complete self-sacrifice. In the garden of Gethsemane, he prayed, “Thy will be done,” but we still so often live like our first parents in the garden of Eden where we grasp for our wills. A worthy reflection, therefore, is to reflect honestly whether we have open wills like Jesus or grasping wills like Adam and Eve. Compare their hands: Eve grasps at the fruit, but Christ’s hands are open, nailed upon the cross. Christ possesses no self-will; our first parents are the archetype for self-will. Perhaps this is why their punishment is also their remedy: pain in childbirth and labor for food both are forms of sacrifice for good things. God wants us to appreciate the fact that we are nothing without him, that we are “dust, and to dust we shall return.” Our happiness,  however, lies only within his vocation, his calling on us to serve him and others. Ironically, it is when our wills are emptied that we are filled most. Ask the Lord to empty us of our wills so that his plan for us will take place.