Whether you consider yourself a gambler or not, you place bets every day.
For example, by sending your child to school, you’re betting on the teacher’s ability to train him or her effectively. By eating at a restaurant, you’re betting on the chef’s ability to cook with the faith that he or she took the proper precautions to safely prepare your food. And by stepping onto an airplane, you’re betting on the pilot and the plane’s ability to safely deliver you to your destination.
Some wagers are bigger than others, and the odds are always different, but your beliefs ultimately determine your bets.
If I believe my car will break down on the way to work, I’ll find a ride instead. If I believe it’s going to pour down rain today, I’ll bring an umbrella with me. If I believe cigarettes are killing me, I’ll stop smoking.
In reality, your car either will or will not break down. It either will or will not rain today. Smoking either will or will not kill you. There is no in-between.
In a casino, barring a push, I either will or will not win the hand dealt to me by the blackjack dealer. The ball either will or will not land on my number in roulette, and I either will or will not win money at the slot machines. There is no in-between.
Strategy is involved, but for the most part, the outcome of my time at the casino is directly correlated to how and where I place my bets.
The largest bet you place in this life is based on your belief in the existence of God.
But, what if God isn't real?
Playing devil's advocate--literally--let's say He's not.
Nothing.
If God isn't real, nothing matters.
Life ultimately has no meaning, history is merely a random assortment of coincidences, and only darkness and silence meet us on the other side of death.
If God isn’t real, society has no basis for morality, justice, or compassion, and our worldview forces us to live in a constant state of breaking the first two Laws of Thermodynamics.
--------- Warning: I'm about to nerd out on you for a second ---------
The first law of Thermodynamics, also known as the “Law of Conservation of Energy,” simply put states that energy cannot be created or destroyed in an isolated system.
If God isn't real, everything in existence must have been created from nothing, and is therefore in direct contradiction to this law.
The second Law of Thermodynamics simply put states that the entropy (the state of chaos, randomness, and uncertainty) of any isolated system always increases.
If God isn't real, how could any order, even in the simple sense of the human molecular structure or something like the water cycle of Earth’s atmosphere originate from the chaos, randomness, and uncertainty of the “big bang” event?
According to Thermodynamics Law #2, it couldn’t. So, we’re forced to consider the other option on the table.
What if God is real?
Well, then nothing else matters.
If God is real, life has ultimate meaning, history is intentional and meaningful and something meets us on the other side of death. If God is real, He is the basis for human morality, justice, or compassion, and our worldview forces us to live in a constant state of awe and wonder of who He is and what He is doing.
If God is real, we are not at risk of breaking the laws of thermodynamics because a creator God accounts for the idea of everything coming from something (or someone) and order deriving from chaos.
In our algebraic formula of existence, God serves quite well as the missing piece to solve our equation.
We also notice--based on these facts and others--Atheism requires significantly more faith than any organized religion ever could.
So...
What if you place your bet on God being real and He proves false? You lose nothing.
What if you place your bet on God being false and He proves real? You lose everything.
The brilliant C.S. Lewis said it this way, “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”
God either is or isn’t real. There is no in between.
Every single decision you make in this life is determined by which bet you’ve placed.
Do you have the faith to place your bet on God?
Because if you don’t, you certainly don’t have the faith to place your bet against him.
abundantly,
hamilton
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