Thought for Today
Ecclesiastes 1:9 What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.
Isaiah 43:19 I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Matthew 5:21 "You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not murder'; and 'whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.' 22 But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, 'You fool,' you will be liable to the hell of fire.
“Fatalism (From Lat. fatalis, “of fate”) The philosophical view that events occur as the outworking of an impersonal force and that these events cannot be changed by human decisions or actions. It is sometimes wrongly confused with the Christian doctrine of predestination.” (Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms, pg. 102)
This morning as Greta and I listened to the morning news on the television, the song Que Sera, Sera ran through my mind. If you are ‘of an age,’ you probably remember that song, written in 1955 and introduced by Doris Day in the movie The Man Who Knew Too Much. The often-repeated line in the song is “Whatever will be, will be.” Will it?
The news story that prompted that song to resound in my mind was about a mass shooting. Mass shootings have become so ubiquitous in our world that we have even come to a generally agreed upon definition, “A mass shooting is generally defined as an event where one or more individuals use firearms to kill or injure multiple people in a populated area, with varying definitions across different organizations.” (Copilot search)
Qoheleth, the Prophet of Ecclesiastes, seems to suggest to me that the ubiquitousness of mass shootings is a reflection of humanity’s propensity to violence and the taking of life. Was he correct? Is that news story about a shooting in Jerusalem, the city holy to the world’s 3 monotheistic religions, a modern rendition of the fratricide recorded in Genesis 4:8 only on a larger scale?
I do not know whether or not Qoheleth was a fatalist. I am not a fatalist. I often describe myself as a free will Calvinist. People often do confuse fatalism with predestination and tell me that my self-description is an oxymoron, a self-contradiction. At least in my own mind, it is not.
I believe each person, in every situation we encounter, is faced with the same challenge Joshua presented to the Israelites, “Joshua 24:15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve.” In every situation we encounter in our lives, we have the choice to respond according to our understanding of “the will of God.” Christians regularly pray “thy will be done.” Far too often we repeat those words in church or in our prayer life in rote, mindless repetition without listening to our words.
In case there is any confusion in your mind about God’s will, the prophet Micah long ago put it into simple words, “6:8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
Jesus phrased it a bit differently, "Luke 10:27 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." Just to make sure there is no confusion in our minds, Jesus also presented us with those words above in Matthew 5.
Our thoughts, our words and our actions are not “the outworking of an impersonal force.” Our thoughts, our words and our actions can “be changed by human decisions or actions.” Like those ancient Israelites, each one of us can and must “choose this day whom (we) will serve.” When we choose God, we can and will do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God and with each other. It’s not complex; it is simple; it is often not easy. The choice is up to us.
Stay safe, choose wisely, trust God,
Pastor Ray