Destiny

After reading Professor Chan's article, I have deep thoughts about destiny. Now I share with you his key points and some of my opinions.

閱畢陳耀南教授的文章後，對命運一題大有感觸，現將他的重點加上自己的少少見解與大家分享。

Do you believe in destiny?

你信有命運嗎？

Ecclesiastes 9:11 …under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.

Ecclesiastes 9:12 For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.

傳 9:11 …日光之下，快跑的未必能贏；力戰的未必得勝；智慧的未必得糧食；明哲的未必得資財；靈巧的未必得喜悅。所臨到眾人的是在乎當時的機會。

傳 9:12 原來人也不知道自己的定期。魚被惡網圈住，鳥被網羅捉住，禍患忽然臨到的時候，世人陷在其中也是如此。

世人都認為有很多運數，要贏波要講球運，要家宅興旺要講家運，要發達要講財運，要升官要講官運，國家要強大要講國運。

那麼人又如何呢？毛澤東曾說：「我們自己的命運，完全應當由我們自己來掌握。」

當真？

人生不能自決的因素有不少，例如先天的性格、氣質、外表，後天的教育、成長背景等等。

動物、死物也有不同的機緣際遇。月球注定要環蹺地球轉，狗在不少地方成為人類的寵物，但在一些地方卻可能成為人的食物。

即使偉人也不能主宰浮沉，例子包括拿破崙、亞歷山大大帝、劉備等。三國時代蜀國先主劉備，親手建立帝業，奈何其子阿斗愚蠢無能，斷送江山。不少有才幹的人甚至英年早逝，壯志未籌。

Ecclesiastes 2:18 I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me,

Ecclesiastes 2:19 and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity.

傳 2:18 我恨惡一切的勞碌，就是我在日光之下的勞碌，因為我得來的必留給我以後的人。

傳 2:19 那人是智慧是愚昧，誰能知道？他竟要管理我勞碌所得的，就是我在日光之下用智慧所得的。這也是虛空。

中國人認為 “一命二運三風水”比”四積陰德五讀書”重要。然而，風水最好的，莫如帝殿皇陵，但內裏的寶物尚且被人偷盜。千算萬算，尚且會有差池，那麼人可以靠誰呢？

Isaiah 45:11 …the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him: “Ask me of things to come; will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands?

Isaiah 45:12 I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host.

賽 45:11 …耶和華以色列的聖者，就是造就以色列的如此說：將來的事，你們可以問我；至於我的眾子，並我手的工作，你們可以求我命定（原文是吩咐我）。

賽 45:12 我造地，又造人在地上。我親手鋪張諸天；天上萬象也是我所命定的。

1 Corinthians 4:7 For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

林前 4:7 使你與人不同的是誰呢？你有甚麼不是領受的呢；若是領受的，為何自誇，彷彿不是領受的呢？

Proverbs 16:9 The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

箴 16:9 人心籌算自己的道路；惟耶和華指引他的腳步。

人生在世，還是抱著以下的態度比較實際。

God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change.
Courage to change the things I can;
And the wisdom to know the difference.
(Reinhold Niebuhr)

上帝啊！請賜我安詳寧靜的心，
去接受我不能改變的事物；
請賜我以勇氣，去改變我能夠改變的東西；
以及請賜我以智慧，知道當中的不同。