The Idolatry of Control

There’s only one God — and it’s not you!

Written by Dan Lee on 27/09/2016
Series: Weekly Devotional
Tags: Control, God, Sovereignty
We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.

Proverbs 16:9
We might not think of Control as an idol. Yet anything that we come to value more than God, is an idol. And as humans, we love to feel like we are in control of our own life, our destiny.

We believe we have control over our health, our job, our finances, and our relationships. However, that’s not the case. There is only one Sovereign, one Master of the Universe, and it is God, not us.

Here are just three important things that we cannot control ourselves, but God does:

1. How long we will live
We can take care of our bodies with proper diet and exercise. We’re told that this will allow us a long, healthy and full life.

But how long will we really live? That’s up to God. There are no guarantees no matter how hard we try.

Psalm 139:16 puts it plainly: “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”

An accident or attack can end our life at any moment regardless of how careful and healthy we are.

Because of this, we can’t trust ourselves with our lives. Rather, we must put our trust in God, for He has each moment planned.

2. Our Success
There are countless articles here on the internet that explain how to gain success from business, schooling, and changing your mindset. But, does that mean that success is guaranteed if only we just work hard? Not necessarily.

“Look here, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.’ How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.” James 4:13-14

Just think… sometimes a business opportunity promises success. Though you might make a lot of money, you could also lose all of it. Or as this verse says, you might not even be alive tomorrow! (Also see Luke 12:16-21.)

3. Other People’s Decisions
Just as we believe we can control our own success, we believe we can control other people’s decisions and opinions. But, can we really?

“As for my companion, he betrayed his friends; he broke his promises” (Psalm 55:20).

Even if we are loving and kind, those closest to us can disappoint or even betray us. Marriages, can result in infidelity, friends can break promise, and children often go astray, even when we parent them the best we know how. Other people are simply not under our control.

So, what does this all mean? Should we stop trying to care for our bodies, stop trying to make plans, or to stop building good relationships? No, the Bible tells us that these are all important (1 Corinthians 6:19; Luke 14:29).

It does mean that we seek God’s will above our own, and remember every day that His plans are the ones that will never fail! The more we submit to His will and His plans, the more we will experience His peace and joy — even when things don’t turn out the way we planned.

Pray this week:
Lord, forgive me for thinking I am in control of my destiny. Thank You that my life is in your entirely capable hands. Help me seek first Your Kingdom (Matthew 6:33) and trust you with my life.

Does this make sense? Want to discuss it with someone? 

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Bitcoin Consumes As Much Power As Switzerland But Impact Remains Negligible

 

Bitcoin Consumes As Much Power As Switzerland, But Impact Remains Negligible

Much of the conversation surrounding Bitcoin and Switzerland in recent days is focused on the cryptocurrency showing price correlation between it and the country’s native fiat currency, the Swiss franc, which is often viewed as a “safe haven” asset for investors alongside gold and the Japanese yen.

However, a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Cambridge, has revealed that each year Bitcoin could consume as much electricity as the entire European country. The same study also revealed that despite powering the cryptocurrency’s network requiring such a massive amount of power by comparison, evidence shows that the impact it has on global climate change is “negligible.”

The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, an academic research centre at the University of Cambridge, launched a new index called the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, that measures variables and metrics related to Bitcoin’s energy consumption.

The index website features a variety of interesting factoids and comparisons on Bitcoin consumption, ranging from how many years worth of all the tea kettles in the United Kingdom running would it take to power Bitcoin for one year, to the fact it would take the University itself would nee 365 years of operation just to use as much energy as just one year of the Bitcoin network.

The comparative study also claims that the Bitcoin network now consumes more energy in one year than the entire country of Switzerland.

Switzerland is known for being a hub for business and finance, with large data centers – yet doesn’t burn through as much energy as the first ever cryptocurrency. While powering a country may seem like a lot, the researchers behind the study claim that the impact of Bitcoin is “negligible” in terms of its contributions to climate change.

They say lightning never strikes twice, but Bitcoin drawing comparisons to Switzerland has now happened twice in as many days. Not only is Bitcoin’s energy consumption being compared to Bitcoin, it’s also being compared to the nation’s fiat currency – the Swiss franc – due to its potential as a safe haven asset.

As concerns over a looming economic crash fueled by the Trump administration’s trade war mount, safe haven assets have started to show signs that investors are once again preparing for the worst and hedging their capital against the perceived risk ahead.

But as investors sell of stocks and other higher risk assets into safe haven assets like gold, the Japanese yen, or the Swiss franc, they also appear to be buying up Bitcoin, too. The four assets have shown tightly correlated price charts that suggest all four of them are being considered as a flight to safety amidst any economic downturn that we may face in the coming days, weeks, months, or years.

 

by NewsBTC 

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member