Control
When Eve at the fruit for the knowledge of good and evil, she was wanting to be like God - knowing good and evil. When you think about it a bit, wanting to be God is all about wanting to control things.
Control - so that you know what's going to happen, what you'll do in the future, whether this person likes you or not, whether you'll get married, whether you will end up destitute. Industries like the horoscope/astrology industry, the Tony Robbins industry, even the "cleaning" industry, are all about trying to gain control back.
The thing is though - control is illusory. It doesn't exist. We do not control whether someone likes us or not, we do not control whether we will get married (ok, we do to a certain extent), we just cannot control everything in our lives.
One of the things I have struggled with through my latest existential crisis is how much I don't control. I can try to help students, but ultimately their lives are theirs. I can try to get people to like me and respect me, but ultimately it's their choice.
I think the thing about being a Christian is it's about giving up control. Acknowledging that you're not in control. That you can't control everything in your life. And trusting that the one who does control it will work for your good.
Control - so that you know what's going to happen, what you'll do in the future, whether this person likes you or not, whether you'll get married, whether you will end up destitute. Industries like the horoscope/astrology industry, the Tony Robbins industry, even the "cleaning" industry, are all about trying to gain control back.
The thing is though - control is illusory. It doesn't exist. We do not control whether someone likes us or not, we do not control whether we will get married (ok, we do to a certain extent), we just cannot control everything in our lives.
One of the things I have struggled with through my latest existential crisis is how much I don't control. I can try to help students, but ultimately their lives are theirs. I can try to get people to like me and respect me, but ultimately it's their choice.
I think the thing about being a Christian is it's about giving up control. Acknowledging that you're not in control. That you can't control everything in your life. And trusting that the one who does control it will work for your good.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28, ESV)
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