Every act by every person at every moment affects change. This is both in the immediate environment and distant. Scientists and theorists of chaos theory talk of the butterfly effect. According to that, the flutter of a butterfly in Australia affects the weather in Greenland. And so it goes with everything affecting everything all the time. The amazing thing is that it works.
It’s even more amazing that it works when some things happen that work against a positive effect.
Here’s the scripture: One sinner destroys much good.*
We’ve seen it. More, we’ve caused it. One person’s selfishness empties the bank; an overbearing captain provokes a mutiny; somebody shoots the Archduke of Austria and begins World War I.
No small butterfly flutterings, these.
And that’s not to mention the more obvious, like the effects of termites and other realities often invisible.
Our physical and environmental sciences attest to the connectivity of all things, but won’t say much about the moral sphere, that being out of their realm. Our experience and history attest, however, that these different dimensions work in the same way. The difference is that outside of the human realm there is no rebellion, no action independently devised, no going against.
Untrue in the moral sphere in which we live. Here in the realm of intelligent thought and free will we’re faced with moral decisions on a daily and momentary basis. And there’s hardly need to remind that a great percentage of the time the wrong choice is made.
And when it happens, much good is destroyed.
The miracle is that everything is not destroyed. There seems to be a higher order . . . something we take for granted. We’ll call it “grace,” not very scientific, and too tame a term for such overarching effect. Somehow, in the midst of the fact that one sinner destroys much good, and there are multiplied millions of such being committed every moment, thus destroying all that much more good, the miracle is that we somehow go on.
For the while.
It’s a grace.
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*Ecclesiastes 9:18b
Next: Occupational Hazards. Coming Thursday.
Our Lives Together
Its About Life
10:53 am
Now that’s a handful, Hyatt! Furthermore, are we not the sum of all the things we’ve done? Each choice we’ve made for or against our conscience, our neighbors, our God … equals that which we are today. And then, when we throw in the idea of, “things happen for me, not to me,” accountability comes into view as a main player. I agree, it’s all amazing that we’re all still here today. It puts me into a posture of praise to think that God would sustain his Earth one moment longer, so that one individual in a Third World country, in France, or in San Clemente, would pause, reconsider the common graces, and turn to him. That’s goodness.
11:58 am
It is amazing that we survive the unintentional missteps of humanity let alone the schemes of malicious men. More amazing to me; God has made provision to fashion the fallout from my sins (and those of others) into something good if I but love Him and follow His calling.
11:59 am
Chaos or relativity theory, which one is correct? I think Forest Gump got it right, “It’s both.” God causes all things to work together for our good and His glory. Thankful for that truth! God is in the restoration business.
7:22 am
Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wrench like ME.