Fate, Feelings, and Chance Make Terrible Gods
Without belief in the one true God, life becomes just a series of random events.
Have you ever made a decision based on a gut-feeling, only to regret it later? Yeah, we’ve all been there. Here’s why: fate and feelings make terrible guides, and even worse gods.
Trusting in fate or chance will make your life a mess. What you really need is good, truth, and beauty. Think about Two-Face from the Batman comics. His story began as Harvey Dent, a district attorney, a man of justice, but then a villain burned him on half his face. It caused him to have two personalities, one good and one evil. When he’s faced with a decision, he flips a coin between the good and evil, trusting chance or fate to give him the right answer. That’s chaos, not justice or truth.
When Harvey embraced fate, he abandoned the pursuit of justice and the rejection of evil. Worldviews have consequences for good or for ill. And without God, life is a “flip of the coin,” subject to fate without purpose. Such thinking can only lead to misery.
This chaotic approach to life stands in stark contrast to what we find in the wisdom of Solomon. He exposes this chaotic misery in one of the most well-known passages in the Old Testament, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. You’ve probably heard these words before in the 1965 Billboard-topping song by The Byrds called “Turn! Turn! Turn!”:
1For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace (Ecc 3:1-8, ESV).
Without belief in the one true God, life becomes just a series of random events. Solomon illustrates his point by placing good and evil side-by-side with no moral difference between the two: “a time to kill and a time to heal”; “a time to love and a time to hate,” and so on. With no rhyme or reason, time goes on, seasons change, and life changes.
If there is no God, there is still time and it’s moving forward, but there is no moral order to the cosmos. There is no purpose for you, your neighbor, or anything else. You are the cards you’ve been dealt. And fate is the dealer, and he’s mindless, heartless, and loveless. Believing we’re just products of fate is where saying “I was born this way” leads us. We become the victims of fate rather than the design of a good God who loves us and makes no mistakes.
If you are the cards you’re dealt, then you are your feelings, and your feelings were given to you without any divine purpose.
Now, feelings aren’t all bad. They’re good when they serve truth, but bad when considered equal to or greater than truth. Trusting in your feelings as truth leads to the same destination as trusting in fate.
The apostle Paul recognized this reality while in Athens, Greece. The city was given over to thousands of idols. And because the Athenians felt they could still be wrong, they made an idol “to the unknown god.” Following their hearts led them to worship an endless number of false gods. Therefore, Paul preached to them the one true God they did not know:
1) The God who needs nothing (v. 24-25).
2) The God who made all things (v.25).
3) The God who planned out all things (v.26).
4) The God who is not far from any of us (v.27).
5) The God who made us in His likeness (v.28-29).
6) The God who calls us to repent of sin (v.30).
7) The God who will judge everyone by Jesus Christ who He raised from the dead (v. 31).
The Athenians’ following of their feelings brought them endless idols and no hope. Paul exposed their feelings as poor guides to goodness, truth, and beauty. Some mocked while others believed (Acts 17:32-34). Unlike the unbelieving Athenians, our feelings should only be considered true when they agree with reality.
Think about it: our society understands this truth when dealing with negative feelings like “I’m worthless,” or “I’m not valuable,” or “Nobody loves me.” Everyone tells us not to listen to or follow such feelings. But when it comes to feelings like, “My body says I’m a man, but my heart says I’m a woman,” our feelings all of a sudden become “our absolute truth” that cannot be questioned, and must be followed, or else!
But it’s very difficult to live in this fantasy world that does not correspond to reality. That’s why those who follow their feelings and say they’re transgender are also more likely to think they’re worthless, leading to higher suicide rates.[1] Feelings are a terrible god.
But there is hope! And it’s not in fate, your feelings, and definitely not in the mirror.
Luke Griffo has given us a book that shows us God’s beauty, and the beauty of His design and purpose for us. We’re not random or defined by our feelings; we’re designed by God to be glorious. He is the very definition of beauty, and we were created in His likeness.
We were created for God’s glory. Our sin hides this glory, but God sent His Son Jesus Christ to become Man to save us from His wrath and all sin. Jesus saves us from the evil one, this wicked world, and our own sin, and He gives us His righteousness, by grace through faith.
We’ve got a divine purpose from conception to eternity. You are more than the cards you were dealt, more than your feelings, and more than the mirror.
You were made to reflect the Creator of all things. You were made to be glorious. The big question is, “Will you live up to who you were created to be?”
If so, then you must run to Jesus! Read this book and choose to shine for His glory!
[1] Facts about suicide among LGBTQ+ young people. The Trevor Project. (2024, March 20). https://www.thetrevorproject.org/resources/article/facts-about-lgbtq-youth-suicide/