Greatest Hits: Soul Mates

Originally posted on 6/7/2009:

I don't believe in soul mates. I really just don't think they exist.

I think it's a term full of romantic nonsense that people who like to watch Dawson's Creek enjoy throwing around as if it means something. People end up with who they're attracted to, that's all there is to it.

I believe that God places certain people in our lives for certain reasons. Many of those people, we may not understand the reasons that they've come or gone, but for better or worse, they've affected how we think or act on something.

Now, I'm not an advocate of predestination. I'm a big fan of free will as a part of my theological thinking. So I also believe that it's up to us to decide with whom we fall in love, to whom we're attracted, and when and if we ever get married. God has a plan and a design, and our decisions don't mess with that design, but He still allows us to make those choices.

The idea of a soul mate just takes away any of those decisions.

To me, when someone uses the term soul mate, it just sounds like an excuse. It's an excuse to get out of the lousy relationship you're already in. I mean, if you're unhappy with your marriage or your significant other, then that person is obviously not your soul mate, right? Or if you're ridiculously infatuated with someone of the opposite sex who barely knows you're alive, almost to the point of stalking them, it's okay, 'cause that person's your soul mate, right?

Okay, that second example is a little dumb. I mean, if there were such a thing as soul mates, wouldn't the object of that person's infatuation be just as infatuated, if he/she were in fact that person's soul mate?

But the first one is right on. And that was sarcasm up above. That's kind of hard to convey in text. We need a new sarcastic punctuation. I digress.

Soul mates don't exist. So don't go looking for one. It's ridiculous to think that out of 6.5 billion people in the world, there's only one out there for you. What if that one person lives on the opposite side of the globe? Does that mean you both spend your lives alone and miserable until one of you finally decides to take that trip to Indonesia that you've been putting off 'til retirement? I don't think so.

Try to make the best of the people that God brings into your lives. Trust me, He knows what He's doing.