One of the reasons I enjoy writing is that I am able to isolate my thoughts and categorize them. If my sole purpose was to gain recognition and receive payment for my work I would have long since dethroned “Goodnight Moon” with an unequivocal literary masterpiece. There is an unexplainable connection between needing to write about things that are important and weighing them out in my head.
The things that occupy my mind are most often left out of the day to day conversations I have with people. Most conversation consists entirely of pleasantries, ideas and topics that are most often topical in nature. Collectively they could be grouped together and labelled "disinformation." It’s much like when the Police ask for the input of the public to help break a case. They could spend months and years chasing down every single lead. Instead they systematically organize information by degree of relevance and authenticity. If you’re familiar with Sherlock Holmes he calls it The Science of Deduction.
We would be surprised to learn that most of the answers to the questions we have about life and how people relate to each other are right in front of us. The problem is that it requires an extremely high level of concentration and attention to detail. There is not a person alive who could successfully master all areas of observation and make the correct observations without encountering failure. What tends to happen is that we amass trivial mounds of data and attempt to sort them into less chaotic rows and columns. It's really not such a terrible thing... except for the possibility of a rather disturbing reality. What if there isn’t a thread of commonality? What if it’s all just part of human nature – the unrelenting force that insists you maintain control?
There are certain schools of thought that amaze me in their dominance. One of them is the gross exaggeration of the political correctness of tolerance. You can’t tell me that there is a greater degree of order and decency when things are allowed to occur that are chaotic and indecent. To help illustrate my point; one of my teachers at college frequently made vulgar sexual references and jokes. When I mentioned it to the Dean of Students, he asked me if they weren’t a “creative method to enhance learning.” Regardless of the teacher’s intentions, the way he conducted himself was very unprofessional.
This isn’t an exposition about the hopeless and aimless journey through life. It’s about facing the reality that we spend our most valuable commodity without realizing we’re doing it. Unconscious decision making causes philosophical nightmares. Time well spent; has no equivalent. The title for this article comes from a verse in the book of Daniel. Daniel is a prophet, and the word that he brings to King Belshazzar is this: You have been weighed on the scales and you don't weigh much.
There is a part of me that becomes so irritated at the thought that I could be wasting my life on things that mean absolutely nothing that I can’t help but examine the issues of life, search for truth, and fulfill my destiny.
Who or what defines your destiny? Have you thought about that? You can't determine your destiny until you first decide how you or some other person or persons can determine it. I used to think I knew what my destiny was. Now I think I have none. Am I right? Possibly. But there really is no one that I know of who can empirically confirm or deny the existence of my destiny, let alone it's specific nature. With the obvious exception of Jesus, who tells me I have been created for and ordained to good works. But that's about as specific as I think it gets.
ReplyDeleteYour thoughts, please, Nelson.
The defintion of destiny:
ReplyDelete1. The inevitable or necessary fate to which a particular person or thing is destined; one's lot.
2. A predetermined course of events considered as something beyond human power or control
I believe that the decisions we make today will effect where we end up tomorrow. I think that even if we do everything right, circumstances can often be out of our control.
It's far simpler to say that you met your spouse as a result of fate, than it is to point to a methodical selection formula, by which you were able to isolate your partner from 3.5billion potential candidates.
The Bible refers to a divine destiny. I like how you used the word empirical. That is the only reason why we as individuals are significant. What good is a King, if he does not have any subjects? Unless we have a role in establishing His Kingdom there is no external motivation beyond personal survival.
For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. Acts 13:36
For I know the plans I have for you... Jeremiah 29:11
Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth My people the children of Israel out of Egypt. Exodus 3:10
When we are obedient to the promptings of H.S. we will fulfil a mandate that is bigger than our own ambitions. I was reading Tolstoy... and he made the observation that we'll never fully understand our role in history... and if we did history would be altered. I know I haven't addressed the fact that there is great tension between predestination and free will, but I'll leave that for another day.
Thanks! I think that you answered my question succinctly when you said, "when we obey the promptings of the holy spirit we fulfill a bigger purpose than our own ambitions." what your saying is that we have a destiny, assigned by god, and even if we limit/cripple it, god still calls us to do his stuff, whatever that might be. Cool.
ReplyDelete