There are unfortunately many errors that have infected our world. One of the most foolish, and astonishingly one of the most widely accepted errors, is the belief that no one can change or affect their eternal destiny. This idea of Predestination has long been condemned by the Church. There are yet subtle ways that this erroneous way of thinking corrupts the modern mindset. People like to believe that their actions will not impact whether they go to Heaven or Hell - this way, they will not be responsible for what they think, say, or do. A little common sense though, with a touch of God’s grace, can clearly disprove this ridiculous belief.

There was once a Franciscan monk, whose name was Duns Scotus. He was traveling one day, beside a field where he saw a farmer at work. But the monk quickly could tell that the man was one of little patience, for he could hear his fierce cursing and constant swearing.

The poor Franciscan was horrified at this outrageous behavior. He turned to the sinful man and begged him to stop, if not for God’s sake, at least for the sake of his own soul. For if he kept using such bad language then he would certainly lose his soul and go to hell when he died.

The farmer, however, didn’t listen to the valuable advice. Instead, he informed the monk, "It makes no difference! If God has decreed I will go to hell, then no prayers will help me at all; and if He has decided that I shall go to heaven, I will be saved, no matter how much I curse and swear." This was his reason for making no effort to correct his grievous fault.

"If that is so, then I cannot understand why you are plowing this field.” the monk answered, gesturing to the ground in front of him. “For if God has decreed that you will have a good crop, you will have one, even if you do not plow your land. But if He has decreed that the harvest will be poor, then all of your work will be for nothing."

The man was shocked at such a ridiculous statement. “Sir, if I do not till the ground, then there will certainly be no harvest.”

The monk smiled, "There. Do you not see that you just contradicted your former argument?"

The farmer hesitated and a thoughtful expression came over his face. By the grace of God, the sensible and simple example of the monk made a deep impression on the farmer. Clearly contrasted with his own absurd argument - the blasphemer clearly saw the errors of his presumptuous and untrue way of thinking.