There have been so many sad things happening in our nation of late; our emotions can’t even keep up. So much craziness, deaths, accidents… It is crazy! So in one of those days where the primary emotion simmering inside was anger… the kind that I wouldn’t let cook post-sunset, I started thinking about this principle of life, or principle of existence. On that day, I had been really pissed off by the death of some young men in a road accident on a recklessly driven bus.
In the animal kingdom, weakness often comes at a cost. The injured animal is usually the first target; in fact in some cases, the weak link is kinda left behind to secure the safety of the rest. The sacrificial lamb kind of thing. The bird that fails to learn migration patterns, or at least follow the leader, perishes. The animal that cannot adapt to changing conditions slowly disappears from the landscape. Nature is unforgiving. Its laws and principles are quite particular. Whether one subscribes to creation, evolution, or any theory in between, the observation remains the same: actions have consequences, and reality does not bend itself to accommodate poor decisions. We have summarized this principle with the phrase “survival of/ for the fittest.” Yet fitness is not just about strength. The strongest animal is not always the survivor. Sometimes survival belongs to the most alert. Sometimes to the most adaptable. Sometimes to the one that recognizes danger and changes course before disaster arrives.
The lesson is not confined to the wild. Human beings live under the same principle. A person abuses drugs for years and is surprised when health collapses. Another drives recklessly and is shocked when an accident happens. Someone ignores wisdom, rejects counsel, spends irresponsibly, indulges every appetite, and then wonders why life eventually caves in around them. The pattern is ancient. Built alongside every matter’s existence. Scripture had it on record way, before science got a name for it. Proverbs 14:12 says: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” Think about it: “The way seems right”. Foolishness rarely announces itself as foolishness. It often disguises itself as freedom, pleasure, excitement, independence, or self-expression. Yet the destination remains unchanged. Proverbs 10:21 says: “The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense.” Then Proverbs 19:3 says: “A person’s own foolishness leads him astray, yet his heart rages against the LORD.” Once in a while, and probably even more than we would accept, people blame God for consequences produced by decisions they themselves made. The Bible repeatedly teaches that wisdom leads toward life while foolishness leads toward destruction. This was the calming consolation for many of the things that have been happening around my spheres that I found myself asking God why He would allow some of those things to happen.
“A wise teacher’s instruction is a fountain of life, turning people away from the snares of death.”
Proverbs 13:14
This is not just a religious principle. It is woven into reality itself. Think of the engineer who ignores the laws of physics and a bridge collapses, a pilot who ignores aerodynamic principles and the aircraft fails midflight. A farmer who ignores planting seasons and harvests little or nothing. The businessman who ignores financial discipline and faces bankruptcy. The student who ignores learning and fails examinations. These laws of nature remain unmoved by personal opinion. This is because wisdom is not an invention of man. Wisdom originates with God. God is wisdom. The universe operates according to His design. What scientists call natural laws are, in many ways, descriptions of the order God established in creation. Scripture simply takes us a step further by introducing us to the Author of that order. Proverbs 8 presents wisdom not as a human discovery but as something that has been present with God from the beginning. Reality works because God made it work.
The laws and principles of God and His kingdom in Scripture function much like the physical laws of creation (Refer to God…). They are not suspended simply because someone chooses not to believe them. A man may deny gravity all day long, but if he steps off a cliff, gravity will not suspend its operation to accommodate his disbelief. Hmmm! See… Denying the gospel, for instance, doesn’t remove the power of the cross and the Kingdom of God from existence. Likewise, a man may reject wisdom, ignore truth, mock righteousness, and despise instruction, but reality will eventually collect its debt. The universe has been built by a wise God and therefore rewards wisdom while exposing foolishness. The ultimate lesson is not merely to survive. That is for animals. Animals survive by instinct; for humans, we were created for something greater.
We were created in the image and likeness of God. Created to walk in wisdom, to know God, and to align our lives with the principles by which He governs His world and to do His will. In the end, survival may keep you alive, but wisdom will teach you how to live. After all, whether you believe in gravity or not, the law of gravity applies to you just the same, and whether you believe in God’s wisdom or not, His laws are already at work around you.