One day, I was consulted by a couple in their fifties to defend their interests in law as they had to appear in court in a drug trafficking case. The couple in question was very upset because they had to appear before the judge even though they were not directly involved in any drug trafficking. They were too upright to consider committing such an offense. The person who had committed the acts was the couple’s son, a seventeen-year-old boy. He had been apprehended just after making a marijuana sale to another teenager. The results of the search and the buyer’s statements established his guilt.

Instead of summoning the young boy to appear alone in court as the perpetrator and responsible for the acts, the law stipulates that the parents or legal guardians of the minor child must also appear in this case. The parents or legal guardians generally appear as the civilly responsible parties for the minor’s actions. The legislator had deemed that the minor child could not be held civilly responsible for his actions because, as a minor, it is the parents who have the right to exercise authority over the minor’s person and property.

In other words, parents are responsible because they also have the decision-making power over the minor’s person and property. We see that the legal system associates the power to choose with responsibility. As long as the minor child is considered by law to be legally incapable of choosing, he cannot legally be held civilly responsible for his actions.

Once God gave free will to man, He also gave him the law and the consequences of each of his potential choices. From that moment on, man could no longer complain or blame anyone because not only did he know what to do to succeed and not fail, but he also had full power concerning the choice of success or failure. His choice of happiness or suffering. This is why the Bible says in Paul’s epistles to the Galatians that what one sows, he will also reap. “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” Galatians 6:7

Since man is responsible for his actions and his actions are the fruit of his thoughts, wisdom would dictate that man pay particular attention to the choice of his thoughts. To be effective in the choice of his thoughts, man should know the results or consequences of each type of thought he will encounter. This knowledge can be acquired through personal past experiences or simply through the experiences of others.

In his book “As a Man Thinketh,” author James Allen elaborates on the consequences of certain types of thoughts:

• Bestial thoughts: form habits like drunkenness and sensuality, which then solidify into circumstances such as destitution and disease.
• Impure thoughts: materialize into confused and softening habits, which crystallize into adverse and troublesome circumstances.
• Thoughts of fear, doubt, and indecision: stabilize into habits of weakness, cowardice, and hesitation, solidifying into circumstances favorable to failure, poverty, and servile dependence.
• Indolent thoughts: fix into habits of uncleanliness and dishonesty, consolidating into circumstances of coarseness and begging.
• Critical and hateful thoughts: translate into habits of accusation and violence, solidifying into circumstances of prejudice and persecution.
• Selfish thoughts: establish selfish habits, crystallizing into more or less painful conditions.
• Pure thoughts: form habits of temperance and self-control, consolidating into circumstances conducive to peace and rest.
• Courageous, independent, and resolute thoughts: crystallize into humane behavior, leading to success, abundance, and freedom.
• Rigorous thoughts: crystallize into habits of cleanliness and diligence, solidifying into charming circumstances.
• Kind and indulgent thoughts: concretize into habits of gentleness, leading to protective conditions.
• Loving and generous thoughts: generate habits of devotion to others, establishing situations of true wealth and eternal prosperity.

In his book “Power vs. Force,” the famous author David R. Hawkins also analyzed several types of thoughts and drew certain conclusions that can be summarized as follows:

• Thoughts of shame: generate feelings of humiliation that ultimately push the person to eliminate or erase themselves.
• Thoughts of guilt: lead to blame, resulting in the destruction of everything one might have started to build.
• Thoughts of apathy: engender despair, leading in turn to abdication.
• Thoughts of pride: give rise to disdain and lead to overestimating oneself. The person thinks they are worth much more than their real value.
• Thoughts of acceptance: allow for forgiveness and easy relativization.

James Allen and David R. Hawkins clearly demonstrated that certain circumstances in our lives are solely the result of the thoughts we have chosen to entertain. No one has forced us, and no one has the power to force us to adopt one thought system or another. Even when a person sincerely believes they had no choice, what they do not realize is that they simply did not want to exercise their right or power to choose. No one has the power to force us to adopt a thought system.

The excellent news I want to announce to you in this book is that nothing and no one has the power to compel you to choose one thought over another. Even God, the creator, has never wanted to violate your freedom to choose. God has not even imposed faith in Him on you, although He wants everyone to believe in Him, wishes that all human beings believe in Him and His Word. Everyone has the right to make suggestions to you. Although no one has the power to take away your right to choose your thoughts in all circumstances, you must be aware that everyone has the right to propose a certain mode of thinking to you.

In other words, everyone has the right to try to convince you to adopt a certain type of thought. Whatever means are used to try to make you adhere to a thought system, never forget that you hold the power. Therefore, decide to exercise this power consciously and strategically, because you will not be able to blame anyone for the result you obtain…

This text is an excerpt from the book “THINKING WELL TO SUCCEED BETTER” written by Dominique MBOG.

We invite you to read the following article “The Raw Material of Thought”.