Who did What

Scripture Reading: Proverbs 21:31

The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.

During the pandemic, the Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, stated “God did not do this” about falling rates of Covid-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths. Numerous people weighed in against what he said. I held back. Let me put the best possible construction on what he said, not to be his defender, but to try and understand the meaning and motive behind it. Then I think I can fairly critique it and point out the error he makes, one we might be apt to make in the opposite direction.

As to his meaning: I’m going to assume it wasn’t meant as a hateful anti-Christian screed. I believe he was saying that the aggressive lock-down and social distancing measures imposed by the government and followed by the people were the reason they were seeing improvement in the situation. He was saying it didn’t happen because people prayed and some miracle took place, akin to manna raining down from heaven.

His motive, I’m guessing, is he wants people to continue the measures put in place that he believes are responsible for “bending the curve.” He doesn’t want people to think that their actions aren’t important, but to think and act as though what they are doing is what is making a positive difference.

So, while, as I will explain in a moment, I believe the Governor is tragically and blasphemously wrong, I understand why he said what he said. If we simply react in outrage without understanding, we will miss the opportunity to be able to rationally and reasonably explain why he is wrong. We will miss the heart of why he is wrong.

God at times does intervene in miraculous ways. He does things that have no connection to any human action or agency. That, essentially, is what a miracle is. A beautiful sunrise might be a wonder, but it isn’t technically a miracle. Nor is the birth of a baby, or a thousand other things people call miracles. When everything is a miracle, then nothing is a miracle.

Normally things get done through regular means. A student gets an “A” on her test because she studied hard. A guy runs a four-minute mile because he diligently trained. Therefore, the Governor may have a sliver of the truth when he says, “we did this.”

He goes off the rails though when he adds, “God did not do this.” Even the student who studied well can have her efforts be all for nothing if God chooses to upend her plans. The athlete who trains hard can fall ill, break a leg, pull a hamstring, or experience a hundred other things completely out of his control that would keep him from achieving his goals. In all our efforts and attempts we are forever bound to the will of God for their success or failure.

It is not a choice between “we did this” or “God did this.” It is both we acted, and God acted. And the success of our actions is dependent on God’s actions.

As the Proverb above points out, we can prepare the horse for battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord. To put it another way, we can social distance, but whether or not that has the effect of keeping this virus from destroying us is in God’s hands.

The Psalmist says the same thing differently: “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” It’s not that people don’t labor and build. They do. But the success of that laboring is ultimately dependent on the Lord doing the building.