Day 2: You Are Not an Accident


I think it's interesting and important for me to reflect on the statements made in the first few sentences, that God "expected [my birth]".  I don't take this to mean that God knew exactly when or where I was going to be born, because that would indicate predestination or a the existence of a "master plan" that removes the possibility of free will.

Okay, but the second paragraph becomes a little more conflicting for me, because the sentence "God prescribed every single detail of your body" implies a lot about how much direct control God has over any one human being, down to the level of "natural talents" and "uniqueness of your personality".  Interestingly enough, I don't necessarily agree that this interpretation is well inferred from the following quote from Psalm 139:15.

Calvinism, if I understand Calvinism correctly to include a belief in predestination, is pretty strongly stated in the paragraph quoting Psalm 139:16.  Actually, the next few paragraphs all reinforce this idea that we are just part of God's master plan, or that we are and will be exactly as God intended.  I feel that this must be a poor interpretation of the Bible, but oh, well... on with the reading!

I feel like the jump from "There would be no right or wrong..." to "your life has profound meaning!" skips many important steps in reaching the latter conclusion.  I don't follow how the existence of a God who made me gives my life meaning, much less profound meaning.  If I was created for someone else, based on someone else's plan, to act exactly as someone else expected, then why do I need consciousness or awareness?  I would simply be equivalent to an inanimate cog in the proverbial wheel.

The poem by Russell Kelfer carries a nice message, but I think it assumes too many things for me to buy into it fully.

Point to Ponder: I am not an accident.


Perhaps this point is targeted to someone else with a different experience in life than me.  Whether or not I am an accident, or what being an "accident" even means, is not something I've considered previously or something I find worth considering right now.  I am happy to be alive and could care... do not find it helpful or fruitful to contemplate whether I am an accident.

Question to Consider: What am I struggling to accept?


This is an interesting question...  Well, let's see.  Off the top of my head, I can't think of anything that I struggle to accept.  But that strikes me as not reflecting deeply enough on the question.

As I write this out and poke more at my own statements, I think what I struggle to accept (or rather what I struggle with changing) is my mundane, average middle-class life.  I'm not super rich, but I'm also not living in poverty.  I have a loving wife and wonderful friends, yet something is missing.  I feel that I should change my life by moving outside of my comfort zone in Middle America, but I am hesitant to give up financial stability upon which my marriage and familial dreams are currently built.

I wonder whether this answer makes sense or is even close to what Rick Warren was expecting.

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