when shit happens

October 30, 2007

Just something that occupied my mind for a bit in light of the recent Glorietta tragedy, and after hearing an alarming story about (baranggay) election-related violence…

We often hear the phrase "everything happens for a reason" very often. It's one of the primary Christian beliefs that the higher being up above - in His infinite wisdom - has a plan. Often, we also hear the same people saying that man is the master of his own destiny… man has free will… nothing is written in stone… we can change our fate.

I just have trouble reconciling these two beliefs.

If everything happens for a reason and He has a plan, then how are we supposed to be masters of our own fate when there's already a plan? If it so happens that this plan conflicts with how we want our destiny/fate to play out, then how are we supposed to change "the plan" if nothing is written in stone?

What if something goes terribly wrong such that it shakes the very foundations of our lives: Are we supposed to believe that this is all part of His plan? Or do we resign ourselves to the belief that somewhere along the way, we did something wrong that caused this to happen? And in hindsight, if we did things differently, things would have worked out fine. (read: regret)

Or maybe we should only use the "God has a plan" belief for things beyond our control? If something goes wrong and you are accountable for it, then you did something wrong. However, if something goes wrong and you're not accountable for it, then God has a plan.

If that's the case… How convenient.

-Hyde