Can Do and Will Do, the Good Guys

My wife was an elementary guidance counselor. One of her responsibilities was to go into the classrooms and have  guidance sessions with her students. She presented lessons for the purpose of helping students develop positive academic, and personal life skills. Theses lessons were meant to build the student's confidence, develop their self worth, and to encourage them to do the best they could do.

Sometimes my wife would use two hand puppets when working with younger children. The puppets were twins, and their names were Can Do and Will Do. Can Do encouraged the students to believe that they were capable of accomplishing the tasks that they were asked to do. Will Do encouraged them to  "take the bull by the horns" and work as hard as they could. Will Do tried to motivate the students. It is very interesting how these two little puppets held the answer to the question, "Why do I fail?"

All too often people fail because they decide at the outset that they are not capable of doing something that they would like to do. People are good at thinking of reasons why they can't: can't do math, can't make the team, can't get that degree, can't start that business. People fail because they convince themselves that they can't. Yet, sometimes the problem is not that they can't. In fact, we know we can. We just choose not to.

When I was in the fifth grade I had a friend who was very talented musically. He was taking piano lessons and loved being able to play the songs he had learned. He was an exceptional student. Unfortunately, his friends teased him and called him a sissy because he was pursuing his desire to play the piano. Eventually this young boy decided to give up his dream of playing the piano and devoted his time to sports. He knew that he could play the piano and do well, but in the end he said, "I won't"!

The Bible teaches us that we can do anything God wants us to do, anything He has gifted us to do and anything He has empowered us to do. "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13  Can Do and Will Do have two evil cousins. Their names are Can't Do and Won't Do. Too many people have listened to these guys. They cause us to fail, becoming less than what God created us to be. Can’t Do and Won’t Do send those who listen to them into the sad land of Many Regrets. Can Do and Will Do are our friends. They are the good guys. When we listen to them we will accomplish great things for the glory of God. May we always listen to them.