Life may not turn out the way we want it to even if we do all the right things. Each person naturally seems to want to control their lives. Many try to achieve control by playing by the rules and doing things the way society and their faith teaches. However even when we follow the “rules” life can still throw us a curve ball. Life is full of too many variables for anyone to be able to control their destiny. There are just too many things we cannot control and very few things we can control.
We cannot control other people. We cannot control what our teachers will put on a test or how well they will prepare us for a test. We cannot control what kind of mood our boss, secretary or co-workers will be in. We cannot control how bad the traffic will be on our way to work. We cannot control the weather. We cannot control the reactions of other people to us – including our spouse and children. Life is just full of things out of our control. And yet so many of us strive for control and go to great lengths to get it. Some of us even think we have control… but that is an illusion.
Our control is limited. There are some things we can control. For the most part, we can control our diet. We can control our forms of entertainment. Many are able to choose the type of industry they work in or even the city they live in. We can also control something else. We can control who our master will be. In Matthew 6:24 Christ’s words are recorded saying this: “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” We can decide if we are going to follow God or follow the devil. Those are the options. The devil would have us make self the center of our lives. The devil seeks to fool us into the idea that we can somehow have control. In John 8:34 Christ is recorded saying, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” So control is an illusion. Some that do not follow God think they have control over their lives but that is not true. They are being lead by the deceiver of souls and are thus under his control. Each is either following God or following the deceiver. Our only real control can be demonstrated by deciding to follow God’s will for us and by so doing, let Him have control over our lives.
