Is Change Really Possible?, Part III

In the last couple of posts, I have been considering various types of determinism. These are reasons that people offer for why it is impossible to change. I will finish by considering two more types of determinism.

V. Situational Determinism

Many people feel that they are victims of circumstances beyond their control. They are locked into a situation they cannot change. They are imprisoned in a dead-end, meaningless job, and they have no opportunities to better themselves. Their marriage is unfulfilling, and there seems to be no way to improve it. They suffer from an oppressive economic situation, such as high unemployment or high inflation, and they suffer the consequences of it.

Of course, it is true that there are times that we cannot control or change our circumstances. Some people will have physical disabilities their entire life. Some people will have personality defects or mental disorders that may never change. Many things in life happen to us as a matter of chance, and sometimes these accidents or mishaps leave lifelong scars, both physical and emotional.

On the other hand, sometimes circumstances do change. One of the facts of life seems to be that, if you wait long enough, it will eventually change. Doors do open up; new opportunities do come along; the economy does improve; our spouse may respond to our attempts at reconciliation.

But even when our circumstances do not change, we can control how we react to them. We are all dealt a certain hand, some worse than others, and we do the best we can with what we have received. You know the old saying: "If life hands you a bunch of lemons, make lemonade."

Within any situation, no matter how restrictive it may appear, there are always some choices that can be made. The key to responding healthily to our circumstances is to avoid self-pity. Self-pity robs us of motivation to change. It paralyzes us because we think we are stuck and there is nothing we can do about it.

When we decide not to play the victim but to take control of our lives, we often find that we can make some changes that help us feel better. We can begin with changes in our attitudes and thinking patterns. If we can change our unhealthy intepretations of difficult circumstances, we can change how we feel about them.

History is full of examples of people who rose above their difficult circumstances to accomplish great things. In fact, it seems that most great figures of history suffered difficulties and tragedies early in life. George Washington's father died when he was eleven years old, and his surrogate father, his brother Lawrence, died when he was twenty. Abraham Lincoln's mother died when he was nine years old. He had a difficult relationship with his father throughout his life, and he did not even attend his father's funeral. Franklin Roosevelt was stricken with polio at the age of 39 but went on to serve four times as president. Many more such examples could be given.

We might be tempted to say that such people accomplished great things in spite of their circumstances, but it may be more accurate to say that they accomplished great things because of their circumstances. Their difficulties, and the way they responded to them, created qualities in them that bore fruit later in life.

Of course, this does not happen for everyone. Many people in such situations give themselves over to despair and believe that they can never rise above their circumstances. They feel trapped and victimized, and so their circumstances become a crushing burden they carry their whole lives.

The Apostle Paul encouraged his readers to reject the idea that they had to change their circumstances in order to serve the Lord more fully: "Let each of you lead the life that the Lord has assigned, to which God has called you. This is my rule in all the churches" (1 Cor 7:17). He goes on to say that if you were not circumcised when you came to Christ, don't feel that you have to be circumcised to serve him more fully. If you were a slave when you came to Christ, don't feel that you have to become free in order to serve him. If you were unmarried when you came to Christ, do not feel that you must become married.

This is consistent with Paul's teaching elsewhere that we should be content in all circumstances. Paul himself had experienced difficult circumstances, but he had learned to be content and to serve the Lord in every situation: "Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor 12:10).

Sometimes circumstances do improve if we are patient and wait long enough. Sometimes our circumstances will never change. But we can choose our attitudes, our thoughts, and our character in responses to them.

VI. Emotional Determinism

Many people feel that they are slaves to their emotions. Emotions are viewed as external forces that seize possession and cause them to act in ways that they cannot control. If they are angry, then they must lash out at others. If they are depressed, they cannot change how they feel.

In most cases, this is simply not true. Schools of psychotherapy, such as rational-emotive therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy, have been developed for the purpose of teaching people to control their emotions. These approaches teach that emotions are caused by our thought patterns. Our self-talk affects how we feel. If we can change how we interpret events, we can change how we feel about them. If we replace faulty thought patterns with healthy ones, our emotions will change.

Of course, there are some emotions that result from chemical imbalances in the brain. Fortunately, we have medications today that can help with that. An open question is whether those chemical imbalances are caused by faulty thought patterns or whether the chemical imbalances cause faulty thought patterns.

In an earlier post, I addressed the issue of changing our emotions, so I will not say more about that here.

Reflection Questions

1. How have you felt like the victim of circumstances? What current circumstances do you find difficult to deal with?

2. In what ways you have responded in positive and healthy ways to your circumstances?

3. How can you learn to be content in all circumstances, as Paul was?

Next Topic: Preparing Ourselves for Renewal