The Butterfly Effect
The Butterfly Effect is the idea that small, seemingly trivial events may ultimately result in something with much larger consequences. An anonymous poem demonstrates an example of the Butterfly effect:
For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
Or consider an example from the sinking of the Titanic:
David Blair was the Second Officer on the greatest ship the world has ever seen; the RMS Titanic. Unfortunately, his excitement was short-lived. At the last moment, the captain replaced him with a more experienced officer, accustomed to working on large passenger liners.
David Blair, probably upset at his usurpation, left the ship, not realizing he had something very important still in his pocket. The key to the locker in the crow’s nest that stored the binoculars. Presumably upon noticing this he shrugged and thought ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’ not realizing he may have just doomed 1,522 people.
A surviving lookout named Fred Fleet later told the official inquiry that if they had the binoculars, they would have seen the iceberg sooner, and in his opinion soon “enough to get out of the way.”
As tragic as the sinking of the Titanic was, something good came from it. It prompted the Radio Act of 1912. Radio communications on ships had to operate 24 hours a day and have secondary power supplies to ensure they didn’t miss distress calls. This encouraged the introduction of wireless radio on ships.
Once the crew realized how much people enjoyed listening to the radio, more were brought on board for passengers to listen to at their leisure. This helped boom the wireless radio industry, increasing its popularity across the globe; a strange twist that led to the Titanic becoming one of the events in history that changed the world. [1]
In the church where I serve, I’m preaching through the gospel of Mark. Last Sunday, the topic was Judas’ betrayal of Jesus from Mark 14. Mary of Bethany anointed Jesus’ head with a very expensive perfume. Judas rebuked Mary for the waste, claiming that the perfume that was worth a year’s wages to the common working man. They could have sold the perfume and given the proceeds to the poor. Jesus stood up for Mary. He told Judas they could give to the poor whenever they wanted, but they did not always have Jesus with them. She did what she could for Jesus while she could.
Judas was irate and no doubt embarrassed that Jesus rebuked him in favor of a woman. He decided in that moment to do something that changed the course of history. Mark 14:10: “Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests in order to betray Him to them.” Luke 22:3 says that Satan entered him at that moment. From our perspective 2000 years later, we know Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of the world, God in the flesh. Judas’ betrayal of Jesus and Satan’s involvement in it should make our skin crawl.
I doubt Judas knew He was changing the course of human history though. He was probably trying to force Jesus’ hand, to get Him to start this revolution against Rome that he had been expecting. His actions led directly to Jesus’ crucifixion. Judas bears the responsibility for that. No one forced Him to betray Jesus. At the same time, God orchestrated the events that led to Jesus’ crucifixion. We see this just a few verses later in Mark 14:21: For the Son of Man is to go just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
Humanly speaking, Judas’ decision started the Butterfly Effect. One decision that changed human history as Jesus suffered, died, and then rose from the dead. Divinely speaking, God is sovereign over all things, even small things that change the world. God IS the Butterfly Effect. Nothing happens, not even Judas’ betrayal of His own Son, without God ordaining and allowing it, for purposes He alone knows and will achieve. Yet He uses us to accomplish His will, .
You and I can act in small ways that influence the world for good. What small thing can you do today that God may allow to have a Butterfly Effect on the world?
[1] https://7strangethings.com/7-small-events-that-changed-history/