There is this phrase “…as fate will have it…” and is a very often used phrase. It gives the impression that something that happened was preordained and that is when people begin to question why this happened and why that hap­pened and who or what determines the fate of a person.

If fate exist, then who or what determines what fate should befall a person, is the crux of the matter. The Oxford dictionary defines it as ‘the development of events outside a person’s control, regarded as prede­termined by a supernatural power.’ This is where it gets interesting.

Why is it that in a class if about 40 students, some are very brilliant and others struggle to do well aca­demically? Let us even bring it into families where among siblings, some are brilliant and others struggle aca­demically. Reminds me of a family I know. They were five siblings.

The second born and the fourth were brilliant but the rest were noth­ing to write home about. It was like, they were from different parents. What has fate got to do with this?

A funny WhatsApp readily comes to mind, captioned, ‘The real reason for racism.’ In the picture below the title, is a White lady in a kind of a tight boxer shorts and a flat behind and a shapeless body.

The picture beside her was that of a Black woman, all the curves in the right places, a body shape that even most women, will envy, the type boys-boys will say “she has ‘ enyim­nyam’ and ‘ekyirnyam’.”

In other words she is graciously endowed in front and behind. These days in the marriage market apart from a beautiful face, if you are not graciously endowed both front in your chest area and back in the torso area, your market value will be severely reduced.

Are we then saying that a supernat­ural power who created human be­ings, deliberately decided to enhance the market value of some ladies but again decided to reduce that of oth­ers? Again, this raises serious ques­tions about the existence of fate.

Sometimes passing through town either walking or in a vehicle, one comes across a mad person or per­sons. These are people who used to be like us, normal, knowing that which is right or wrong, who appre­ciated nice things and would nev­er wear dirty clothes or eat filthy things.

Yet they now find themselves in a situation where they laugh at will without reason, attack people with­out provocation and act in ways that no sane person would ever contem­plate.

Again, as a Christian, who believes that the Bible is the word of God, and that the Bible describes God as the creator and is also a good God; it therefore does not align with his nature to have a fate of madness for people he himself has created.

Deliberately predetermining that a terrible thing like madness, alco­holism etc. should be the fate of a human being created by a good God, does not make sense. What it tells me is that there is nothing like fate.

What I believe in is that, decisions or choices, have consequences, ei­ther good or bad. If a person chooses to drink alcohol, over time, he or she can get kidney problems. This brings to mind the effect of galamsey on our health and if we as a people, do nothing to stop it, the health conse­quences will result in something we shall later claim as fate. What has fate got to do with someone deciding to indulge in drugs, becomes addict­ed and destroys his life?

What has fate got to do with de­ciding to live a promiscuous lifestyle and dying through HIV AIDS before his time?

NB: ‘CHANGE KOTOKA INTERNA­TIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT’

By Laud Kissi-Mensah

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