What Macbeth and Romans Have in Common

One thing that generally comes into question when reading Shakespeare or Romans (both of which I've been doing recently) is whether or not we as humans really have choices. The other side of that coin is often presented as the idea that we have no free will of our own at all—that fate entirely dictates our lives. Shakespeare had a familiarity with the Bible that reveals itself in many aspects of his plays but probably never as strongly as this resounding question his characters struggle with and his readers are left to answer for themselves.

So, as Christians, what really is the answer? Do we serve a benevolent God who gives us free will and aids us, or do we serve a God who places only the path before us that He’s already chosen? Notice, I didn’t say dictator for the second option because God is not a dictator, regardless of whether we believe we have free will or not! Does He work in the lives of His children establishing boundaries evil cannot cross?  Certainly! Is that a good thing? Absolutely! The rub comes for humanity in the idea that we don’t have complete control of our circumstances, but honestly—can we control much of anything, much less everything—birth, death, life—all the situations that batter against us daily? I’m thinking that if we could, we would be God, and if we’re God, Jesus’ sacrifice was unnecessary because we wouldn’t need it. Hmmm…. so the struggle seems to be with pride. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Considering all this, what really is the problem? Let me give you a situation from Macbeth to demonstrate what I am saying: Macbeth meets up with three evil witches following a battle in which he’s demonstrated his bravery and loyalty (both of which are about to be rewarded by his king). Until this point, there is no problem, but once Macbeth encounters this evil, a downward spiral occurs when the witches offer him their “prophecy” that he will be king. At this point, the witches’ words are planted in his mind—Macbeth could have chosen to shrug and move on with no consequences, yet he does not choose to do so. His free will to decide for himself is intact, and he starts believing the foul prophecy of the evil witches. At that point, he begins making really bad choices (with the influence of others like the witches and his wife—think that whole “bad company corrupts good character” verse in I Cor. 15:33) that are obviously morally wrong in order to fulfill the prophecy of these evil witches. With the encouragement and help of his wife, he murders the king, blames it on the king’s sons to cover his crimes, and then begins an epic killing spree to maintain his power, which is obviously corrupt at this point. I ask—Did he really have a choice or was all this dictated to him by fate (which placed the witches there in the first place)? If one reads Macbeth, the term self-fulfilling prophecy is understood, and if one understands the role environment and selfish choices play, one begins to understand the idea that the evil people do only reveals the evil within and around them. Alternately, any good accomplished must come from God alone, as “no man is good” (Luke 18:18-19).  

The true questions we wrestle with seem threefold: 1.) Is there any good in us?

2.) Is God is really good? and 3.) How does God’s sovereignty affect me? If we see good in ourselves, we don’t truly believe the Bible (Rom. 3:23 for example), and we reject the teachings of Christ when He says no man is good. If we agree with Him that no man is good, then we accept that we cannot make good (righteous) choices on our own. If we accept we need God’s help, we acknowledge His sovereignty or control. If we acknowledge He is a good, sovereign God (and really, who would want to worship one that wasn’t?), we understand that He gives us free will (and that will is corrupted by our sin natures), and He offers us a way out (Jesus) that we couldn’t choose if he didn’t enable us to do so with His power (Eph. 2:8).  It doesn’t sound so hard when we choose to think about all this in the context of who we are (helpless sinners - Rom. 5:6) and that Jesus died for us (the ungodly) at  “the right time.” 

Maybe, just maybe, if we choose (with our free will) to set aside the same pride that Macbeth so willingly embraced when he heard what he wanted to hear, we would be able to see that serving a sovereign God who not only gives us free will but also enables us to choose Him is a good thing!

(Note: I understand Macbeth is not a real person, but when I teach literature, I see so much spiritual context that makes it rich and enduring.  . . just thought you might need to understand why so many of my posts deal with literature. LOL!  I teach my students that literature reflects culture, and in Shakespeare’s time, unlike ours, most were familiar with the teachings of the Bible.)