Doctrines with Power – Part 3 – Chance
March 8, 2010
Dear Friends,
Our next doctrine with power is one that, from a purely intellectual point of view, hardly garners any notice, yet has very profound implications on how we view and interact with the world. The doctrine is the belief in chance.
We are not going to delve deeply into why one would or would not believe in chance here. We dealt with this subject from an expositional point of view in a previous TFTW series. If you are interested in digging into that topic, we recommend reading our six part series called Time and Chance. For now, though, we are going to deal with the ramifications of belief in chance.
There are so many promises in the Bible that simply fly out of the door if you believe in chance. “All things work together for good” of Romans 8:28 doesn’t mean “all things” but “some things” if chance is involved in our world. The impact this has upon us cannot be underestimated. It is the difference between a confident, faithful “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me” to a fearful, questioning “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear evil: for thou might be with me.” Time and time again, you see brethren in Christ who are practically crippled by worry, fear and stress because deep down in the core of their being they do not fully acknowledge God’s activity in their life.
Imagine the hero’s of the Bible if they didn’t think God was involved in the details of their lives. Suppose Joseph had believed that it was just “bad luck” that brought him to Pharaoh’s prison? What would have happened had the disciples just chalked up the ministry of Jesus to series of random, freak occurrences? You may say “But, Kyle, these men were in the Bible days. It doesn’t mean that it happens that way anymore.” Do you really believe that the Bible records event and event for thousands of years with His intimate involvement in the details of the lives of countless people and yet the point to us is God worked like that in the Bible, but He doesn’t do that anymore? Surely, God is not has not pounded home the message of His involvement so that we might act faithfully only to make us the exception of the rule in the history of mankind! No, we can give up those thoughts of having to depend solely on our own might, power and wits and depend on the God of Heaven to work in our lives. We can cast out despair for the One who gave His only begotten son loves us and will not forsake us. We can trod through the valley of the shadow of death confidently because the same God that walked beside King David as his shepherd walks beside us. His rod and staff they should comfort us if we will only take a hold of them.
The doctrine of luck or chance has power over us. It colors how we view each and every day. Depending on our perspective, it either infuses us with power or it makes us believe we are, for the most part, out there all on our own. Our perspective either makes our life a journey where we walk hand in hand with God or one in which we careen through life with little help at all. It is amazing how one little doctrine can impact us so greatly.
I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matt. 28:20)
Have a great week,
Comments»
What you think about fate, chance and the power of God affects your behaviour very much. We’ve visited a country in which the idea of “fate” is common. The idea that whatever happens is fate, and you can’t do anything about your fate, led to all sort of risky behaviour, on the roads and elsewhere. If you believe that you have no real choice over your fate, then there’s no point in driving safely. If you aren’t meant to die, then you won’t, if you are meant to die, then there’s nothing you can do about it, no matter how safely you drive. I believe this is one of the factors which keeps societies poor and troubled. Until you think and feel that you have some control over your own fate, then why try? I don’t think it is any accident that by and large it is the Protestant Christian, and more recently the Confucian, cultures that have prospered. These are countries where there is a strong belief that through hard work, perseverance, helping eachother, etc. you can surmount what would otherwise be your fate. Cultures that don’t have this, like Muslim, Hindu (until recently) and to a lesser extent Catholic, tend to be left behind. Mind you, this is only one of many factors that affects prosperity and development, but it has an effect.