c. 1996 Religion News Service

(Dale Hanson Bourke is the author of”Turn Toward the Wind”and publisher of Religion News Service.)

(UNDATED) The word”control”may not appear in the Bill of Rights, but to most Americans, the concept has become an inalienable right.

Advertisers have long understood its power to put Americans in a delusional state.

Buy this car and control the road.

Use XYZ deodorant and control your love life.

Sign up for a new diet plan and control your weight.

What started out as an open-ended belief in freedom has evolved into an expectation of a payoff.

So when bombs go off in public parks and American jetliners crash within sight of popular resort areas, it is not only our sense of safety that is jeopardized. We have come to expect control, and we do not take kindly to anyone who messes with our sense of it.

Mixed with grief and horror are responses of indignation and outrage about recent events. How dare anyone make us feel afraid in a public park? How could airlines or airports allow breaches in security that offer opportunities to terrorists?

We want answers and assurances so we can go back to believing we are masters of our destiny.

But answers aren’t clear and assurances lack conviction. Security can always be breached, experts now tell us. Lone lunatics can create mayhem in any number of ways.

Much of the rest of the world has already learned these lessons. But Americans are stubbornly resistant. After all, we can control the road, body odor and our love life. Why can’t we expect more?

The fact is that we can spin out on the road and our love life can fall apart no matter how good we smell. A stray bullet can hit us as we walk down the street or a tiny blood vessel can wear out in the brain and drop us in our tracks.

We are perilously close to death at every moment of every day.

For some, this may seem like an overly pessimistic view of life. But until we come to grips with it, we can never truly appreciate life or understand the spiritual nature of temporal existence.

Those who believe in God and a life beyond what is seen have already acknowledged that they are not in charge. Believers know that control is a human god, created to give power to those who really have very little.

Belief in a God who has a plan far beyond our human abilities to comprehend it offers a wonderfully freeing alternative to fear and frustration. It means that we can be careful and prudent, but ultimately we can only do so much. It means that every moment on Earth is a gift, and every day should be accepted not expected.

The tragedies in New York and Atlanta deserve national mourning and even outrage. But they should also serve as a catalyst for individual soul-searching.

None of us is guaranteed tomorrow. There are few things we really control about today. Coming to terms with these truths will make us all more clear about how we live each moment and where we place our faith.

MJP END BOURKE