THE HUMAN ELEMENT

Lake County Mail, Issue 5, 25 June 1947, Page 3

THE HUMAN ELEMENT

Jn past,articles in this column, quite a lot has been said about the Bible, but to-day I want to say something’ of the human element, for when we get down to bedrock, religion is something that affects us deeply, and is to that extent personal.

Each one of us has four parts of a

“receiving apparatus” which come into play often in our lives. These parts are our intellect, memory, imagination and emotions, governing all as a sort of master switch is the will.

Intellect —that is the part of us which we use when we coldly sit down to think over and consider facts and statements. When you think out something for yourself, or stop to consider what I or anybody else tells you about God, without getting excited about it, you use your intellect. Then there is our memory. It can run over events in our past life, and bring before us pictures from that life, like a movie camera. The memory acts over again to you things that have happened, years ago it may be, and you can see again how things turned out, right or wrong, happy or unhappy, how much was your responsibility and how much was not. Thirdly, there is the imagination. This acts for the future much as memory does for the past. You can picture what might happen and your part in the events of a couple of days hence. You can put God in His rightful place in those events. At first, of course, it will be difficult, like a child going to school for the first time. The routine of school life takes a bit of getting used to, but once the child settles down, he is being built up into something worth having and worth being. That is why we send him to school. Lastly there are our emotions, those wild and untameable parts of us. You know, how when you go to an interview, determined not to lose control of yourself or your tongue, that is exactly what happens, and you say things which five minutes later you wish had never been said. Or perhaps another day comes round when you wish you could feel .excited or keen about a matter, and it is all as cold as brass. Nevertheless, sometimes the emotions do work in the right way, and if it should happen that they do. do not despise them. Use them as you would use a bus that happened to be going in your direction, and in which you could get a Ifit.

Governing all is the Will. See that it is set in the right direction, for when you come down to bedrock that is all that really matters —your memory, imagination and emotions can be left out of it, your intellect will generally carryon a certain amount of work on its own; It is something like a four-engined aeroplane. If one cuts out, the other three will carry on. Your will is the pilot; of course, if he loses control of the machine, the whole thing comes crashing down to the ground. So check up on the engines, intellect, memory, imand emotions, but above all, are the pilot —the will —is able and qualified to fly the machine. The pilot can control the plane only according to the directions of the maker our will can control our intellect, •memory, imagination and emotions only so far as it follows the directions of its. Creator, the Lord of Heaven and Earth. “Take our wills and make them thine, O Lord.” f! Williams.