Official state flags of Israel, United States of America, and Ukraine. By HannaAibetova/stock.adobe.com.
The “law of unintended consequences” states that the actions of people and especially governments always have effects that are unanticipated or “unintended.” Not just sometimes—always.
Consider four examples.
One: President Trump has imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China, intended to encourage manufacturers to invest in the US (though he granted a one-month exemption yesterday for automakers). To illustrate their desired effect: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. announced a $100 billion investment deal in US facilities that will allow its customers to avoid tariffs. However, stock markets have reacted negatively to the announced tariffs; their ultimate economic impact is yet to be known.
Two: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pressured President Trump and Vice President Vance last week for greater security guarantees for his nation. However, the US has now suspended intelligence sharing and weapons shipments until Mr. Trump is satisfied that Mr. Zelensky is making a good-faith effort to engage in negotiations to stop the war with Russia.
Three: Following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the West has continued to levy economic sanctions against Russia, seeking to deter and end the war. However, Russia has responded to these sanctions by turning to China for economic and security support, strengthening political and military ties between the two in opposition to the West.
Four: Israel has released more than seventeen hundred Palestinians in return for thirty-three hostages held by Hamas and its allies. However, a number of the Palestinians released were terrorists who can be expected to terrorize Israelis again in the future.
No matter how good our intentions, fallen humans cannot escape the law of unintended consequences. We cannot effectively predict or control the future outcomes of present decisions. Neither can we be trusted always to choose what is in our best interest and that of others. Nor do we always have the capacity to act on our choices.
Unsurprisingly, a new Gallup poll shows that only 22 percent of Americans in our secularized culture are satisfied with the nation’s “moral and ethical climate.” Do we need to turn to religion in response?
“Does the West Need a Religious Revival?”
My wife and I attended a debate last Thursday night in Austin, Texas, titled, “Does the West Need a Religious Revival?” On one side were New York Times columnist Ross Douthat and recent Christian convert Ayaan Hirsi Ali; on the other were noted skeptics Adam Carolla and Dr. Michael Shermer.
Much of the discussion centered on the question whether religion does more good than harm in the world. Facts were cited with regard to anxiety, depression, drug abuse rates, and other challenges in our society. One side alleged that the decline in religion in Western culture is related to this decline in flourishing. The other side argued that it does not.
At one point, however, Douthat and Ali pivoted the debate to make this point: What matters most about religion in general and Christianity in particular is not whether it is useful but whether it is true. If it is not, its alleged utility is less significant—you wouldn’t want to build a moral edifice on the foundation of a lie. If it is, its truth is what matters most—you will spend eternity either with Jesus or separated from him based on your response to his offer of salvation.
Douthat and Ali are emphatically correct.
Paul based his faith on facts, stating: “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17). If there is no resurrection, “we are of all people most to be pitied” (v. 19). Our faith in Christ and trust in God’s word are based on absolute facts of history, archaeology, science, and logic.
And, as the great apologist Josh McDowell famously asserts, this evidence “demands a verdict.”
Why Christianity cannot be “moderately important”
Seventy Christians were recently found bound and beheaded inside a church in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Why would people choose to stand for Christ even in the face of such horrific persecution? Because they know Jesus to be Lord and have made him their Lord. They know the facts regarding their faith, but then they step into a personal relationship that changes everything.
C. S. Lewis asserts in God in the Dock: “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” The truthfulness of the Christian faith illumined all other truth for him: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
David prayed, “Those who know your name put their trust in you” (Psalm 9:10). Commenting on this assertion, our ministry’s devotional resource First15 notes:
Where we place our faith and trust is like the currency of our hearts. We have a limited amount of faith and trust to invest and real returns to gain or lose depending on where we choose to invest them. Scripture is clear that we cannot place our faith and trust in both God and the world. We cannot choose money and God as our anchors of hope. We cannot choose both the opinion of man and God’s opinion. We cannot choose our own will and his. We must, moment by moment, choose where we will invest our limited, valuable currency of faith and trust.
It is absolutely crucial that we “place our faith and trust” in the risen Christ:
We will never experience the peace of heaven if our hope is in this earth. We will never experience the power and help of the Holy Spirit if our hope is in our own abilities, talents, and strengths. We will never fully experience the satisfaction of being truly loved if we place our hope of affirmation in the opinions of others.
As a result,
“The only path to truly experiencing the abundant life available to us in Jesus is placing our faith and trust in him alone.”
Will you take this “path” today?
Quote for the day:
“The only thing of our very own which we contribute to our salvation is the sin which makes it necessary.” —William Temple
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