“He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. . . . In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good” (Ecclesiastes 11:4, 6).

Not all pessimism is wrong, and not all optimism is right. Both extremes, however, such as unjustified pessimism and unreasonable optimism, are self-defeating. The Lord warns us:

“Which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish” (Luke 14:28-30).

Caution, prudence, and forethought are essential in every enterprise, of course. But I want to emphasize the effect of excessive and preposterous pessimism. Pessimism often goes hand in hand with negativism, which is a morbid tendency to say or do the very opposite of what is expected.

The story of Robert Fulton, who was the first to apply steam to navigation, is well known. He built the steamer Clermont in 1807. A group of pessimists were shouting, “She’ll never start! She’ll never start!” But when the boat started to move up the Hudson River, they shouted, “She’ll never stop! She’ll never stop!” Where would we be today if all men were like those doubting Thomases, who could see things only from a negative angle? From an unknown author we have a poem depicting such people:

The man who misses all the fun

Is he who says, “It can’t be done.”

In solemn pride, he stands aloof

And greets each venture with reproof.

Had he the power, he would efface

The history of the human race.

We’d have no radio, no cars,

No streets lit by electric stars;

No telegraph, no telephone;

We’d linger in the age of stone.

The world would sleep if things were run

By folks who say, “It can’t be done.”

Allow me to mention a few more examples of pessimism allied with negativism - examples which have remained in our history. Here is a news item published in a New York newspaper in 1868:

“A man has been arrested in New York for attempting to extort funds from ignorant and unsuspicious people by exhibiting a device which he claims will convey the human voice any distance over metallic wires so that it will be heard by the listener at the other end. He calls the instrument a telephone. Well-informed people [scientists in the first place] know that it is impossible to transmit the human voice over wires.”

However, when Alexander Graham Bell exhibited his invention at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, PA, in 1876, scientists welcomed it enthusiastically.

When it became known that Thomas Alva Edison was trying to create a practical electric system, the Parliament of England appointed a committee of top scientists to find out whether the prospective invention would work. After two months they gave their opinion: “Impossible!” Nevertheless, on October 21, 1879, Edison surprised his detractors. The electric light was invented.

In 1890, Henry Ford, a skinny young man, went to a government bureau to tell them that he could make a buggy run all by itself, without a horse. But he said he needed help to build a little shop and to buy the needed tools so he could start working. The pessimistic chairman answered:

“Well, Mr. Ford, we’ve got plenty of horses. Who wants a buggy without a horse?”

But Ford found optimistic people who were prepared to help him, and in 1893 he produced his first “gasoline buggy” which was able to run 25 miles per hour. And, in 1903, he founded the Ford Motor Company, becoming one of the world’s leading industrialists.

The Bible teaches that Adam and Eve were created as free moral agents, endowed with intelligence to reason from cause to effect and vice versa. But, unfortunately, men and women do not always use their intelligence. Human beings have also been given a conscience to discern between right and wrong, and to choose between good and evil. Therefore, they should be fully aware of the result or consequence of their daily and hourly decisions and actions.

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7).

The world is fraught with fears, anxieties, and sense of defeat. And there will always be difficulties before us. Nevertheless, the Word of God assures us that there is a way out. We should be convinced that:

1. Pessimism, negativism, apathy (indifference to what is happening), and fatalism can only make things worse and they certainly contribute to form what is known as the inferiority complex.

2. By blaming others - our parents, the church, the school, the job, society, the state, or God - we make life more and more miserable for ourselves. Let us put the blame for our failures and troubles where it rightly belongs, namely, upon ourselves.

3. The first step out of our problems, if we have reasons for spiritual or secular discontent, is to face realities and admit our shortcomings. It certainly takes faith and courage to frankly confess our mistakes. But it’s a powerful remedy.

4. The solution to many of our difficulties will come as a result of following the teachings of Christ. He tells us:

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Matthew 7:7).

Of God we are to ask for wisdom, guidance, courage, protection, health, more faith, discernment between right and wrong, power to overcome, and other things. (Read Matthew 6:9-13; James 1:5; 5:14.) Of those who have found the way and are willing to share their knowledge and experience, we should ask for advice. We will never regret if we are humble enough to learn from those who, in some areas, know more than we do.

We should not seek to satisfy our fanciful and sinful desires or our worldly ambitions; we should rather seek to stand right before God and our fellow human beings, faithfully carrying out our duties and responsibilities. Then we will also have the respect, confidence, and cooperation of our associates. And, above all, we will have the blessings of God.

Before God, we must knock on the door of mercy. In the world, we should knock on the doors of reasonable possibilities and lawful opportunities.

If we follow Christ’s method - asking, seeking, and knocking - we will have His presence both in our spiritual life and in our secular affairs. Where He leads there can be no defeat.

“If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

“The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you” (2 Chronicles 15:2).

There is a belief called fatalism, according to which humans cannot choose how to act; they have no power to shape their future, and therefore, they must accept that which has already been predetermined for them. “What must be shall be,” said Seneca, a Roman philosopher.

A fatalist believes that, if it is in the order of things that he or she should have a car accident, it will be useless for him or her to be especially careful while driving, because he or she will have an accident anyhow.

Fatalism plays an important role among the followers of Mohammed. They think that all the actions of people, good and evil, as well as their ultimate destiny, have been predetermined by Allah.

Christianity is not a religion of fatalism. There is no such thing in the Bible. But, strange to say, some Christians seem to be fatalists. The Holy Scripture teaches that a man or a woman, by using his or her freedom of choice, is the arbiter of his or her present and his or her future.

Since Christ assures us, in Matthew 7:7, 8, that we can obtain all the help we need, why are there so many failures? Why so many misfits in life? And why so many spiritual shipwrecks?

A Christian believer was trying to find an answer to a question which is troubling many serious-thinking minds: why is it that so many young people fall prey into the net of the devil until they are completely ruined?

While worrying about this problem, he sat down in the shade and suddenly noticed a worm moving quietly along in the footpath. In his meditation, the man said to himself: That poor worm is destitute of reasoning powers to guide it. And no enemy is lying in wait to entangle it. But our young men and women, rational beings endowed with a conscience, are entrapped and destroyed in great numbers. Why does this happen?

At that very moment, a spider crossed the path in front of the worm and stood still. Soon the worm was stopped by an invisible cord which the spider had spun across the path. He turned to go back, but the spider spun a second cord right behind him. He turned and twisted in an effort to escape, but it was all in vain, for the spider wasted no time weaving more ropes around him. It took the spider one whole hour to force the helpless worm to move to the entrance of her hole.

Then the spider eyed the worm for a moment, darted on him, struck him repeatedly with her fangs, and the poor thing rolled over. Without wasting a second, the spider pulled the dead victim into her hole to feast on it.

Whenever that man saw boys and girls ensnared by the destroyer, he could not help thinking of that poor little worm. But he understood the difference: While the worm has no reasoning powers and, therefore, cannot make a choice, human beings are gifted with intelligence to choose between life and death. The man found the answer: No one ever falls into the trap of Satan and remains in it, to his own destruction, but by the wrong use of his free will. We are free to choose, and, once we have made our choice, we must take the consequences.

Our destiny has not been predetermined. It depends entirely on the wise or unwise choices that we are making every day and every hour. Then why is it that millions and millions who want to have success in life prove to be complete failures? Find the answer in the gospel according to John, chapter 15, verse 5.

Some denominations teach that once a person has been saved, no matter what he or she does afterwards, he or she can no longer change his or her condition. He or she is saved once and for all. According to the dictionary, predestination is the doctrine that God has decreed everything beforehand since the creation, and that certain souls shall be saved while others shall perish, regardless of individual choice. This doctrine is in direct conflict with the Bible where we read that:

1. We must choose: Deuteronomy 30:19; Joshua 24:15; Isaiah 1:19, 20; Hebrews 11:24-26.

2. We must strive: Luke 13:23-27; 2 Peter 1:3-11.

3. We must abide in Christ: John 15:7; 2 Corinthians 13:5, 6. If we choose to turn away from Christ, we are lost: Hebrews 6:4-6; 10:26-29, 35-39; 2 Peter 2:20-22; Revelation 3:5; 1 Corinthians 9:27.

4. We must remain faithful to the end: Matthew 24:13.

Therefore, we must confirm our calling and election (2 Peter 1:10) by asking, seeking, knocking, and striving.

“Fight the good fight of faith” and “lay hold on eternal life” (1 Timothy 6:12).

“He that overcometh shall inherit all things” (Revelation 21:7).