28 July 2023
The whole point of civilization is to build up an environment that makes life easier. With substantial infrastructure and a strong supply system, not only is living less of a struggle, but it's easier to get the impression that you have more control over major life events. This is part of what makes military training such a shock for most people. The whole point of the military is operating in an uncivilized environment. People in the military are far less likely to imagine that they have much control over anything in their lives.
But the western military version of living without the comforts of civilization tends to produce more fatalism than hope. You train to survive combat, but the unspoken assumption is that you run a high risk of not surviving. Still, troops are encouraged to believe they can fight through the worst situation. We think of this as a type of heroism, as morally good. But it's not the same as what the Bible promotes.
Dying a hero on the battlefield is not the same as dying on the Cross. There's a fundamental difference between the biblical outlook and that of Western Civilization. The first question is: Who controls your destiny? It's not a matter of what you say, nor even what you believe consciously, but the underlying assumptions that drive your choices and behavior.
This requires you to delve into your own inner self, what psychology refers to as "poking around in the basement". That's just a parable for trying to find your own convictions. If you've never tried to contemplate your own soul's motives, it can seem a very dark and haunted place like the cobweb covered basements of some houses.
But about that difference: The biblical outlook is that there are great and mighty forces far above your level that control far more than we can imagine. Your destiny is not random and impersonal, but chosen by someone else, though not entirely by fellow humans. Of course, the western notion is that you make your own destiny, denying that there is any higher power than mankind. Western mythology admits that there are things you cannot control, but I promise you that even the so-called "Serenity Prayer" still verges on blasphemy. It assumes too much. The only thing you can change is your individual response, and even that requires divine assistance.
The whole concept of "destiny" in the West is wrong. Paul makes it clear in Romans 8 & 9 that God personally decides what to limit. If you get hung up on what's fair, you'll never understand. The Creator has chosen to pair your life with certain limitations and certain freedoms; free will is always constrained in some way. Your duty is to embrace the limits assigned you and make the most of the options He grants.
Determinism is a lie; so is fatalism. But the notion that you make your own destiny is a delusion. Free will is limited. Learn this paradox: If your free will was total, then it would mean God has no interest in your life. He will not bless you.
Maybe you get it already -- the Bible promotes opportunism. Not for self-will, but it's opportunism on behalf of His glory. It's neither passive nor aggressive, but requires you to learn to leave certain things in His hands, and make the most of His glory with what He places in your hands. Don't get lost in binary thinking.
To help you get a better handle on this, I recommend you learn to play jShisen. It's a harmless game that teaches you to reduce your strategizing to just a few things you can change. It's a parable of life that helps you to gain the proper mindset of faith. You learn to accept that life is filled with obstacles to human ambition. Stop listening to the delusion that you can change the situation, because God handles things Himself, unless you aren't under His Covenant. Without the Covenant, He passes you off to some other spiritual power that may not care about you.
We are just along for the ride. If He is your God, then trust and obey; this is the best possible life we could have.
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