Solomon instructed those of us who will listen to,
"Consider what God has done:
Who can straighten what he has made crooked?
When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one as well as the other.
Therefore, no one can discover
anything about their future." [Ecclesiastes 7:13-14]
Solomon's suggestion to "Consider what God has done..." is a request for his audience to ponder those fixed elements of creation, to meditate on those objects and occasions that are permanently shaped by forces beyond any human influence--because (as Solomon reveals) those objects and occasions are shaped by God.
As technology advances, so does humanity's refusal to accept the limits that humility and good sense demand. Our technological prowess easily blinds us to our powerlessness as well as tempting us to believe the lie that our destiny is ultimately under our own control.
But, this one simple verse and the consideration it demands contradicts that conclusion. God is in control of determining which objects are crooked and which ones are straight; He determines the quality of our days. When we convince ourselves we have any control over such things it is not only the height of hubris but it is also the prelude to an inevitable fall (Proverbs 16:18). The letter of James warns us about making plans (James 4:13-17) since our lives are just a vapor... and how much control does a vapor have over the wind?
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