Recently, I was at church sitting with my small group, and the topic of God’s providence versus human’s free will arose as part of the conversation. We were going through the book of Ruth, discussing Naomi’s shortcomings and how it all happened for the best in the end. At some point, the group leader asked a question that immediately urged a response out of me: How do you know that God will be there to save you even during your darkest times?
“You don’t…”
Those are the only two words that escaped my mouth, half a second after hearing this question. “What do you mean?” He asked. I elaborated by arguing that if you believe in God’s ultimate control of all things, you simply can’t think everything will work in your favor. That you might die and still be in a terrible situation, assuming it’s all God’s will. Now, this is something I personally don’t agree with, and I think things are more complicated than they appear to be, so let’s dive deeper into this topic in hopes of gaining a deeper understanding.
Eden: Back to the Beginning
The first case I want to look at is the one of Adam and Eve, the big “downfall” of humanity. God, being all-knowing, was always aware that we would eventually disobey, even before we were created. God also knew Satan would tempt us into eating the forbidden fruit, which would eventually lead us to discern between good and evil. Now, two scenarios are possible here: either God meant for this to happen, or, though it was going to happen, God chose not to interfere. In this case, I like to believe that the latter is the most probable case, since God has always wished for humans to obey. So, according to this, it all started with free will… let’s keep going.
Proverbs 16:9
“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” This is a very interesting verse, and I believe it’s the one that best explains the whole topic we’re trying to dissect. What I get out of it is that human beings have full freedom in how they want to live their lives. However, once a human being choses to live in a Godly manner, the SPIRITUAL path will be shown to them. I like to compare it to footsteps on the snow, God leaving a trail for the ones who wish to follow the steps. This trail is laid out in the Bible as much as it manifests in our daily lives as signs and nudges we get every time we feel lost. If you (yes, you reading this) have decided to follow God, you know exactly what I’m talking about. That feeling of certainty and relief of anxiety every time we connect with God, and those little (or big) things that often happen to lead us into making the right decisions. If you look close enough, God is talking to you, every single day, it just takes a certain level of awareness to be able to receive the message being sent.
Up or Down?
One big argument I like to make is the fact that God is willing to let us go ahead and destroy our lives by choosing sin, which is all around us every day. The prominent existence (and rising popularity) of destructive drugs, sexual immorality, violence, profanity, and hate constantly pushed by popular media is more than enough evidence that it is easy to enter by the wide gate that leads to destruction, especially in this day and age. Now, let me ask you a question: If God is more than willing to let you die in a world where it is easiest to do so, doesn’t it make sense for the opposite to be true? God loves you, and if you really analyze and believe in the Bible, you would agree that you have as much right to die as you do to live. What does this mean? That God wants you to achieve success (whatever your idea of it may be) as long as you continue to walk the path of righteousness and humble yourself even at your best moments. John 3:27, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.” The conclusion I draw from this is that God will guide you and give you every opportunity to reach your goals in life, but you must also stay grounded and grateful, acknowledging that nothing would be possible without God by your side. Always remember: God will never give you dreams that you can’t achieve. However, you must also be able to discern the ones that are born out of pride and ego from the ones God wants you to follow. The main question I like to ask myself is: Is this dream bigger than me?
The Limiting Belief of Most Christians
19th-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche argued that Christianity promotes a slave morality, encouraging people to endure suffering and avoid responsibility by attributing everything to God’s will. Now, one thing we must be clear about is the fact that Nietzsche wasn’t directly criticizing God or the Bible as much as the way Christians internalize doctrine to avoid taking control of their lives. Now, this might sound crazy to you, but I agree with him. As human beings, we love to shift or get rid of responsibility in our lives. Things didn’t work out? “Oh it must be God’s will, but it definitely wasn’t my fault.” This, in my opinion, is a totally twisted and incorrect way of approaching life as a Christian. I might even venture to call it sheer disobedience and a sorry excuse for not taking risks and achieving what God brought us here for. We must NEVER blame anyone but ourselves for our shortcomings. Even when external factors come into play, this is our life and solving whatever problems come our way is ultimately our responsibility. Additionally, we must understand that God loves us and wants us to live to the fullest (as long as we follow the spiritual path that has been outlined for us). Whether that means making a bunch of money to travel the world and enjoy that freedom with your family, staying in your hometown to change the lives of the ones near you, curing a chronic disease, or becoming a monk, God wants you to reach your full potential and be a living testimony that earthly existence can be enjoyed without disobeying and falling for sin. God wants you to be happy.
What We Know
We can’t expect God to give us the things we want out of thin air. First, we must consider the reasons why we want them. Our purpose should always be to spread light in this world and serve others, actively fighting against our selfish nature and spreading the good news. God is the ultimate orchestrator of this symphony we call the Universe, but everyone gets their own instrument and the freedom to play along (or not). Keeping our attention on God is the equivalent of keeping our eyes on the music sheets. Each of us have a passion, a calling, talents that were given to us by God so that we can make this world a better place. It may be “hard” to make things happen, it might even feel contrarian to the traditional way of living life in today’s society, but not exploring our gifts and maximizing our existence through them is one of the greatest blunders we as humans can commit against God
I want to finish this off by referring to the Parable of the Talents. A master gives three servants different amounts of talents, and while two of them invest and multiply what they were given, one buries his talent out of fear. The master praises the first two but rebukes the last for not taking advantage of his circumstances. If you truly love and have faith in God, you will do everything in your power to achieve your dreams, even if everyone else around you thinks you’re a lunatic. Because you were given the freedom to choose, and settling for anything but the best is an act of cowardice and ungratefulness. So live your life, face your problems head on, carpe diem, and all those other corny phrases that you’ve heard a million times. Not as an act of selfishness, but as the ultimate way to glorify God.
IMJB 