Every Wednesday, I work from home so I can watch my boys while they do school via remote learning. One of my treats for them when I work from home is that I will run to Panera to get them something for lunch. Often, during lunch, we sit around and talk about life. This past Wednesday, we got into a conversation about how Elijah has more of Courtney’s genes and how Lucas has more of my genes. Elijah said, “I’m more of a Rubin [Courtney’s maiden name] and Lucas is more of a Lang.”
Then I interjected, “Well, yes, physically you look a lot more like your mom, but in terms of personality, you are much more like me.” Elijah looked perplexed. This is when I explained to him that I’m an introvert. I like to spend time by myself and in my head. Elijah is much the same way. Whereas Lucas is much more like Courtney in terms of his personality. Courtney is an extrovert. She likes to be around people and that describes Lucas to a T.
This conversation got me thinking about how much the genetic lottery determines the trajectory of our lives. The genes you were handed to you by your parents influence your health, your looks, your intelligence, and your athleticism, just to name a few. Most importantly, as I was explaining to Elijah, your genetics play a role in your personality type. Are you methodical or impulsive? Are you reserved or outspoken? Are you risk averse or risk tolerant?
Obviously, nothing is set in stone. You can certainly change your personality through work and sheer force of will, but your genetics set the foundation. All of this is determined by random chance. It all depends on who your parents are and how their particular combination of genes express themselves in you. A very small proportion of the population wins the genetic lottery. These are the people who have perfect health, they look beautiful, they possess amazing intelligence and are athletic to boot. The rest of us fall somewhere along the bell curve. Some of us get intelligence. Some of us get athleticism. Some of us are beautiful. Most of us are various combinations of all those things, just to lesser degrees.
Traditional Christianity has often claimed that God is the one responsible for creating this combination inside of us. The famous verse from Psalm 139 says, “For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Ps. 139:13-14). Personally, I do not believe this to be true. I do not believe that God plays an active role in determining our genetics. The reason I disavow myself of this theology is because if God is responsible for all of the positive genetic combinations, then God is also responsible for all of our genetic defects as well.
For instance, let’s say your baby is diagnosed with Pompe disease, which is caused by an enzyme deficiency that leads to a build-up of glycogen that is often fatal in infants. Is God responsible for creating that genetic problem? Most people would rightfully say, “No.” However, you cannot simply absolve God of bad problems associated with genetic diseases and then, in the next breath, praise God for positive genetic blessings. God is either actively determining the outcome of everyone’s genetics or none of it.
I choose the latter and for good reason. The God I believe in does not determine the outcome of our lives before we are born. We live in a universe where a lot happens according to random chance. Yes, this means God is not actively directing our lives, but what it does mean is that God gives us a chance to change ourselves and others. Through God’s love, we have the ability to change the lives of those who have been dealt a bad hand. Even if you weren’t born with the best looks, the best health, or the best brain, you can still enjoy a good life when you experience love.
The love and care we show each other is the most critical component of the world we inhabit. It’s the way we beat the odds of the hand we’ve been dealt. God designed the world for all of us to win the lottery through being lifted by our community. So even though each individual might have deficiencies in various areas of their lives, when we work together, we can lift each other up and create equity by bringing what we do well to the table. The church that Jesus envisioned is a community where we beat the odds by contributing our gifts in such a way that we compensate for each other’s weaknesses.
So my prayer for you today is to consider: what is the gift that you possess to make our community a better place? How are you compensating for the weaknesses of others and how are they compensating for your weaknesses? Hopefully, you’ll see that God gave you something special that allows our community to shine and be light for those who need it most. Enjoy your Saturday!
