From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #8911

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8911. The things that have been stated so far show what the situation is with a person and his life. That is to say, they show that a person is such as his will is, and that he remains such after death since death is not the end to life but the continuation of it. Since therefore a person is such as his will is - because, as has been stated above, the will is the real person - being judged according to one's deeds means being judged according to one's will, since there is no disparity between will and deed. Though external restraints exist - fear of the law, and fear of the loss of position, gain, reputation, or life - to inhibit the deed, the deed is all along in the will, and the will all along in the deed. It is like endeavour and motion. Motion is nothing other than an extension of the endeavour; for as endeavour comes to an end, so does motion. Therefore there is nothing essential within motion apart from endeavour. Learned people know this, for it is a recognized and well-established idea. In the human being endeavour is the will and motion is action; and they are called such in the human being because in him endeavour and motion are living. Being judged according to one's will is the same as being judged according to one's love; it is also the same as being judged according to the ends one has in view in life, as well as being judged according to the way one lives. For a person's will is his love, it is the end he has in view in life, and it is the very life itself within him. The truth of this is clear from the Lord's words which have already been quoted - One who looks at a woman 1 in such a way that he lusts after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Matthew 5:27-28. It is clear also from His saying that killing someone is not only performing that deed but also the desire to perform it, which is meant by being angry and reviling him with insults, Matthew 5:21-22. Furthermore a person is indeed judged according to his deeds; yet no further questions are asked than these - How far did those deeds spring from his will? and What nature did his will give them?

Footnotes:

1. Following the version of Sebastian Schmidt Swedenborg adds a word which implies that the woman is another man's wife.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

Commentary

 

Motives

By New Christian Bible Study Staff, Julian Duckworth

Why do we do the things we do? In reality, all motivation and endeavor are from our will. When we think about doing something, we think about what we want or love and how to do it. Our motives come from a love for what we want or want to do. In other words, why we do something comes from our will or loves; how we do something comes from our understanding or thinking.

In this world we are free to think and do both good things and bad things and we are also free to do good things from bad motives, like selfishness, pride, honor or gain. Our freedom is important to the purpose of life in this world - deciding where our eternal home will be. We need to be free to choose good or evil to make our choices meaningful and lasting.

Swedenborg teaches that we shouldn’t be forced or compelled to act against our will. What is forced on us doesn’t become our own and doesn’t last after the compulsion is over. However, we should compel ourselves to do what we learn is true until, in time, we come to love doing it. We are freely choosing to compel ourselves and what we choose to do in freedom, becomes us.

There is a great explanation of this concept of freedom and compulsion in The Heavenly City, A Spiritual Guidebook 143 where, in part, it says, “….Goodness and truth have to be worked into our love and motivation in order to become a part of our life. This cannot happen unless we are free to have harmful and false thoughts as well as good and true ones….”

It is important that we are free to do evil so that we are equally free to do good. If good were the only choice, we wouldn’t be free. In fact, even in the Garden of Eden, the Lord put the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil because it was so important for people to have a free choice.

Descartes said, “I think, therefore I am.” Swedenborg teaches in essence, “I will, therefore I am.” At first our thinking guides our will and actions and then eventually our will guides our thinking and actions. We are our motivation.

(References: Arcana Coelestia 8911; Divine Providence 129)