"free" will or heavily influenced?

I find human behavior fascinating - my own included e.g. "...why did I do THAT?!" 

In light of this, I found the below video fascinating.

This demonstrates that even though we have "free wills," (everyone made their own choice to stand up in the below video) our wills are heavily (if not completely) influenced by our need for acceptance/approval/ love - or at least by what we BELIEVE we must do to gain or achieve these. Click the following to see...

https://youtu.be/MEhSk71gUCQ

Being influenced for good

How do we counter being tossed about by our own weakness and need for approval and submitting to the actions of others as in the video above?

When our identity is strongly anchored in Christ - he fully loves and accepts us no matter what we go through or what others think, do, or say - we are not so easily swayed.  The more grounded we are in his love the less likely we are to be swayed. This is likely why dictatorships do not like "religious" beliefs and most aggressively try to oppress and outlaw Christianity (or other faiths). We are not as easily influenced by their dictates - because we are more influenced by God's. God is a direct threat to raw unbridled ¹government power and control. 

How much of your behavior is dictated by what OTHERS think, do, or say? e.g. When the polls go contrary to your views, does that affect you and make you reconsider your position? What if you are the only one that takes the view you do? If you are not influenced, you are either very principled, with strong convictions or you have a strong personality and are more a leader than a follower (the former usually produces the latter).

If you are anchored in Christ, this will instill in you a strength you did not have before to do what you are convinced (believe) is right in the face of opposition (knowing there are eternal rewards, no matter what, instills great courage and steadfastness). This is the essence of leadership; courage in the face of great opposition. 

For a discussion on how our "wanter" is broken, not our "chooser" click here.

For a discussion on the role of government for a follower of Christ click here. 

For a discussion on how we find the strength to deny ourselves, click here. 

Obedience... evidence of love

"If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just (in the exact same way) as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love." - Jesus. Joh 15:10    

Is abiding in God's love something earned? It can't be because Christ himself, who is fully loved by the Father, experienced his father's love by abiding in it. 

Note how this verse ties abiding in Gods love to keeping his commandments. Keeping God's Commandments does not cause God to love us no more than it causes the Father to love the Son. Obedience however is a means of our participation in it.

In the same way that Christ obeyed his Father, he's calling us to obey him. In so doing we will experience the love of God in the same way that Christ experienced it.

This also is suggested in the following verses. 

Joh 14:21  Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him." 

Joh 14:23  Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 

From the above two verses we see the dynamic that drives us in keeping God's commandments is our love for him, while at the same time keeping his commandments becomes the means by which we participate or partake  more fully in his unearned love secured for us in and by Christ. 

Both of these verses indicate our experience (subjectively) of God's love and presence is tied to our obedience. This is not the same as causing God to love us. God's love (objectively) is secured for us by Christ's efforts, not our own. 

Our obedience to God is the fruit of our trust in God and the greatest evidence of our love for God.

If we truly believe he loves us we will have no problem doing what he tells us to do. The more we trust in God's love the easier it is to follow his commandments i.e. they are not a burden to carry out.

1Jn 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 

Thinking--->emotions-->willing

Is there a connection between our affections and our wills?

Yes. We choose (will) what affects us most (creates affection/desire) ; what most draws or allures us. What moves us to action (will) is what moves us emotionally (affectionately) first i.e. we are moved into action by our emotions.

Break down the word and consider its meaning. It consists of two parts. Emotion = e and motion.

Willing ourselves to act contrary to our desires wears us out and does not last long term.

What creates e-motions?

When we behold something beautiful and attractive, we are excited and drawn to it. We are moved (affected) to act/action. Likewise, when we see something unattractive, we are repelled. This too is movement to action but away from and not towards something.

What about our minds?

But isn't our mind involved also? Yes, what we think (believe) to be most valuable is most desirable and what we choose (will) to pursue.

However, what is truly desirable (objectively) and what we think is desirable (subjectively) are not necessarily one and the same.

What we think is desirable is only what we can see as desirable. If we are blind how can we see that which is truly most desirable?

Because we are spiritually dead we are also spiritually blind. Our problem is the greatest beauty lies beyond the physical and is found in the spiritual. A spiritually dead person can see nothing of the Spirit. God, who is Spirit, must reveal himself. 

How do we know God is beautiful? Do we have any indications?

Just look around you. There is great ugliness and pain in the world but there is also great beauty. Everything beautiful about creation comes from the Creator and reveals something of him. Likewise, everything destructive that disfigures creation comes from our rebellion to Him. The creation is in bondage due to that rebellion. 

How do we behold God, who is beautiful, clearly?

When we see him face-to-face. But that is not possible in our present state so now we behold him by faith or "through a glass darkly." We believe he is who he claims and promises to be.

How do we know God's promises are true?

He proved them to be true by his actions.

And what action did God take to prove he's truthful and most trustworthy?

Even after we rejected God, he chose to pursue us and disrupted his world of bliss, by stepping into our world of pain as a man, 

to pursue and embrace us in our brokenness and self-inflicted pain out of his infinite love,

allowing this to kill him so that he might deliver us and our world out of pain;

not because he needed to but simply because he is love and loves us that much.

The more clearly we see him (mind/belief), the more we value him and greater we desire him (affection/emotion) and choose (will) to passionately pursue him. 

Is God still providing even when things get hard?

Providence is God's provide-ence: The nature and status of what God provides in and through the circumstances you and I find ourselves in.

We don't normally view hard and difficult circumstances as God's provision. But in fact, as his children, everything we go through, whether good or bad (as we define it) is for our good. God is providing a good end even, and sometimes especially, through bad means.

Would you consider Joseph being sold by his brothers into slavery God's provision and a good thing? Or his being falsely accused and thrown in jail for years a good thing? Yet these and other circumstances ultimately lead to Joseph being promoted to second in command over all of Egypt and in the position to deliver his family from famine. Gen 37:3 - 50:20

What if the outcome of hard circumstances does not result in such dramatic provision, is God still providing? Yes, he is, but what he's providing is of a spiritual and eternal nature far more significant than any present material provision. God's provision can be, but is not necessarily or always physical or material.

The prosperity gospel folks have it right in that God always wants our good and is doing good for us. Where they go wrong is they assume it's always of a physical or material nature and always here and now. 

These little troubles are getting us ready for eternal glory that will make all our troubles seem like nothing (a drop in the bucket of eternal existence). Things that are seen don't last forever, but things that are not seen are eternal. That's why we are to set our minds on the things above (Col 3:1-2) that cannot be seen. 2Co 4:17-18 (CEV)  

These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever. 2Co 4:17-18 (MSG)  

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 2Co 4:17-18 (ESV)

The gain of self-denial

We are called to deny ourselves, (e.g. fast) to help make us more aware of our dependence on God - who is true life - instead of the pleasures of creation.

When we least want to deny ourselves may likely be when we most need to.

If we regularly choose to act in ways that require us to focus on our dependence on God instead of the pleasures of this life we are deliberately humbling ourselves. 

We are not only called to humble ourselves but this also leads to our ultimate joy and gain. 

Denying ourselves the pleasures of this life (*for a season) leads us to find greater pleasures in God; feasting on God himself leading to increased gratitude for his good gifts. But not only pleasures in God now but in the next life as well. In fact the greater our pleasure in him in this life the greater our capacity to enjoy him in the next life. 

"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you." - James an apostle of Jesus. Jas 4:10  

And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?" - Jesus. Luk 9:23-25

"Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done." - Jesus right before his betrayal. Luk 22:42 

"...but (Jesus) emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, - Paul and apostle of Jesus Php 2:7-9

______________________

*Denying ourselves legitimate pleasures long-term that we find in creation is not God's design or intent. Creation is good but it is not our God. It is a means to an end, not the end itself. It is given to show us God - His beauty, power, creativity, and love and should be seen and approached as such.

Loving ourselves?

Most everyone who has studied this closely agrees that knowing we have value is vital to becoming whole and functioning well. The question then becomes, how is that best accomplished?

We hear a lot today about how and why loving ourselves is necessary and the best way (maybe the only way) to feel good about ourselves. Why? Because others will fail us, but we can always choose to love ourselves. 

But what if there is someone who knows you better than you ever could, with all your flaws and cares about you, and loves you regardless? Do you think/believe that's even possible? 

The best "self-care" is not caring for yourself but letting somebody care for you who knows you and loves you better than you know and can love yourself and can meet your need for love better than you or anyone else.

Someone who has infinite knowledge, infinite ability, infinite love, infinite resources, and an infinite desire to care for you could do that better than you can.

That would not be you. A finite being - you or I - cannot meet an infinite need. We were never designed to meet our endless need for love. Believing we could is when all our troubles began.

Our only challenge is believing God knows and loves us better than we do and entrusting ourselves to his care, that whatever He gives or withholds is best for us. This is the exact opposite of what Adam and Eve concluded when they chose to eat from the tree of good and evil.

Is there anything that helps us to believe he loves us in this way?  

John 15:13  "The greatest love you can have for your friends is to give your life for them." - Jesus

1Jn 4:9  "And God showed his love for us by sending his only Son into the world, so that we might have life through him. 10  This is what love is: it is not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the means by which our sins are forgiven." 

Christ said you can know the truth and the truth will set you free. He also said "I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me..." Do you believe this?

For further comments on loving ourselves, click here and here

Moved to action

If God wants something accomplished it will not happen unless He brings it about. 

However He brings things about through our faithfulness i.e. actions full of faith or grounded in and by faithful dependence on God's love/Spirit. Faithfulness that is driven by the strength and power we experience when his infinite love seeps deeply into our heart and soul. 

The greater our faithfulness (actions that come by or out of faith), the more fruitful the outcome.

"...For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me..." - Paul an apostle of Jesus. Col 1:29

"...Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure..." - Paul an apostle of Jesus. Php 2:12-13

These verses paint a picture of how God works in and through humanity. It is not simply God that works directly on the world but God works in and through us to accomplish what he seeks to do.

For our part in this joint effort or partnership, the question isn't whether hard work pays off but rather what is driving (or should drive) our hard work. 

For a follower of Jesus, being driven out of a desire to honor God and put him on display, in all his glory, is our ultimate motive. 

But what creates this desire? 

We can't and won't live for the glory of God unless we have personally experienced him in all his glory. This is not something we make ourselves do, it is who we become as we behold, participate and experience him in all his infinite beauty (II Cor 3:17-18). And that beauty is displayed most fully in the incarnation and work of Christ on our behalf.

1Jn 4:19  We love because he first loved us.

Believing God loves us with an infinite and eternal love no matter what, causes us to fall more and more in love with him and creates in us the desire to want to show him off. We want others to see this God who loves in this way. The more we see his love for us the more we desire to put him on display (glorify him) and desire others to see him in all his love.

On the flip side however, a major means by which we experience the love of God is our faithfulness/obedience. For more on this click here.