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The question of fate
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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