"Two things can be true at once."
A commentator I used to listen to would say this all the time. The world today is so polarized that it tricks itself into thinking that every issue has two... and only two... different positions. There is only one side of the story which is absolutely "correct" and the other side must be absolutely "wrong". If you think anything other than those two options, you must just be ill-informed. What a cancerous way for a society to live!
The reality is that two things can be true at once. I am a huge proponent of today's youth pursuing higher education, whether at a university, trade school, or through certification courses. At the same time, as a society, I think that far too many people are getting 4-year degrees and this has resulted in the "value" of a college degree eroding. The joke I've told many teens is "there are far too many people getting degrees these days and it's bad for society... but you need to get your degree." It's a silly example of where two things can be true at once, even though they seem to contradict one another. How can I simultaneously say that people shouldn't go to college and should go to college at the same time? It's all about circumstances and perspectives. The circumstances and my perspective on society differs from the individual. It's easy to see once broken down, but so often we want to form our opinions before stopping to consider the complexity of a situation.
The reality is that life, and people, are complex. Two things can often be true at once. Sometimes we can be busy, but also refreshed. Sometimes we can be bored, but also exhausted. Sometimes we can be offended, but also at fault. Sometimes we can be correct, but also overstepping our bounds. Two things can be true at once and if there is a single, ultimate truth, can we really understand it?
Deep, philosophical thoughts, right? Are you still with me?
Solomon talks a lot about the duality of life in Ecclesiastes, which I go to frequently. When I'm irritated, when I'm down, when I'm having fights with family and friends, this is the book I go to. It highlights the fact that life is nothing more than a series of situations where two things can be true at once. We should pursue wisdom... but pursuit of wisdom is worthless. We should have good work ethic... but laboring our lives away is meaningless. This verse, in particular, stuck out to me this week...
In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that no one can discover anything that will come after him. (Eccl 7:14)
When I was looking up several commentaries on this verse, I found one explanation saying that Solomon is telling us that life will throw us good times... and in those times we should dwell on God. Life will also throw us bad times... and in those times we should dwell on God. The answer to "what do I do?" in good times and bad times is to dwell on God. The purpose of Solomon's wisdom in this verse is to teach us that if we dwell on God during the good times and dwell on God in the bad times, we will be utterly dependent on God in all times and better positioned to be used for his purposes.
What I conclude from this is that two things can often be true at the same time. The world is imperfect and presents us with imperfect situations that require a lot more thought and meditation to navigate than simply identifying the "correct" or "incorrect" path. The one thing... and the only thing... that always remains true is that God is supreme over our world, our lives, and our hearts. In a world that is full of gray areas, and in a society so desperate to cling to their own definitions of "right" and "wrong", choose instead to recognize the multiple facets of the situations life throws at you while not forgetting the entirely consistent and unchanging goodness of God who sticks with you through thick and thin.
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