Control Is Commonly An Illusion

She was on TV the other day, sobbing inconsolably. When she finally composed herself sufficiently to speak, her words were a shock. At least, to me, because I have always known that control is commonly an illusion. The deception endures from one generation to another, regardless of how often we discover that is a myth.

On a national basis, even after 9/11. we still tend to think we can protect our national security. Of course, we must do our best to protect our nation as well as our loved ones. But often in that very protection, we see our vulnerabilities, if we are realistic.

And, even when we bury our heads in the denial sands, something comes along to shake our complacency. Trending right now is the news of how easy it is to hack the device which we installed to protect our homes. We are refraining from mentioning the brand that is currently in the news, for two reasons.

First, its developers claim that the breach was not a hack of their software. It was due to the personal carelessness of somebody not keeping their password safe. That is plausible and we therefore have no reason to dispute it. Secondly, there is no doubt that other brands have the same vulnerabilities.

But, as we gleefully install such devices, we delude ourselves into believing that we are in control of our security. That is, until a total stranger uses it to harass our children. Only then does it cross our minds that control is commonly an illusion.

Unless You Know That Control Is Commonly An Illusion, You Will Brag

In the book of James in the bible, we see how bragging about tomorrow is a bad sign. It is a sign of those who fail to understand that control is commonly an illusion, at best. But an illusion, nonetheless. If you have a tendency to say “today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city. We shall spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit,” you are guilty of presumption.

You are guilty of failing to recognize that control is commonly an illusion. The prescription for that fault is for you to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall do this and that. Because, in the final analysis, it is only God who is in control of the entire world. And that includes our individual lives and situations.

However, a lot of us, including believers, refuse to operate our lives in the light of that revelation. We resist the thought that control is commonly an illusion. If we are failing, we need to strive harder is the thinking we bring to bear on our life. We often forget that the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the mighty.

The end result of such thinking is extreme weariness. Instead of giving our burdens to God in the control tower, we carry it on our shoulders. We even brag about our accomplishments. Some people refer to themselves as self-made men, until they are not. They fail to see that control is commonly an illusion.

Success Beguiles Us Into Thinking That We Are In Charge

The lady cited in the first paragraph of this post was successful, extremely so. She consequently assumed that her great qualifications were the reason for her success. She had good work ethics and diligently applied herself to her career.

In her mind and with such a scenario, success was guaranteed, until it was not. Up to that point, she fully believed that she was in total control of her life. But at the point when the bottom fell out of her life, she saw her mistake. She cried out in anguish, “I thought I was in control.” Sorry, but she was not.

Because being in control is commonly an illusion. But unless she was hooked into the control tower, aka God, she was destined for depression. Perhaps eventual suicide. Since she was only briefly on television, I am not aware of what became of her.

But if she did not quickly understand that control is commonly an illusion, she was headed for a dark place. Don’t let it come as a surprise that very successful people end up committing suicide. Perhaps more so than average people.

People we consider mediocre or average have come to terms with the fact that they are not in charge. Therefore, when things go out of whack, they do not awfulize. They simply adjust and move on.

The fake controllers meanwhile? They go into tantrums, which usually end in suicides. How I wish there could be a college course on how we are not in charge. We could cut the rate of celebrity suicides by at least half.

Don’t Forget that Control Is Commonly An Illusion

We see this phenomenon as well everywhere in nature. Not knowing that control is commonly an illusion is the reason strong trees break in a storm. The pliable ones, who never pretended to be in control, simply bend. And when the storm is past, they rise again. Meanwhile, the formerly-strong but now-broken ones end up as firewood.

As natural beings, we all run the risk of thinking that we are in control. The only way to realize that control is commonly an illusion is to operate as a spiritual being. You may recall the case of the rich farmer; he was quite natural.

We learn that his land brought forth plentifully. He assumed that a combination of planting good seeds and his hard work brought such a bountiful harvest. With a self-congratulatory pat on the back, he started making plans for the future. He was thinking of himself as being in charge of his crops his barn, his all.

His barn suddenly seemed too small and so he would build a bigger one. He would fill the barn and sit back to enjoy his life for a good long time. After all, he had invested well and had worked hard. This man could afford to retire on several hundred thousand dollars a year.

When you hear his end, you will immediately see that control is commonly an illusion. It is an illusion we must take care to avoid. The farmer did not end well. In point of fact, the real controller of life demanded his life that very night. He died that before he could get into bed.

Don’t let that be your story.

Maranatha!