In Book Six of Augustine’s The Confessions, Augustine writes about one of his early disciples, Alypius, who gave up being entertained by the gladiator events in the Colosseum, only to relapse to it soon after. Alypius relapsed when his [former] friends literally dragged him back to the Colosseum tempting him to enjoy the show. At first, while seated for the event, Alypius kept his eyes closed. But, there came an instance where one of the gladiators let out an extremely loud cry; Alypius could not help but to look and thus was hooked again on what Augustine warned him against!
Shortly thereafter, Alypius was mistakenly identified as a thief in the marketplace, and thus had to rely on wisdom and grace to find the true culprit. Augustine links this particular instance of Alypius with his sinful desire to be entertained by the gladiator events. He mentions how now that Alypius has been detained under false circumstances he becomes like the gladiator: a victim of unjust authority.
How often do we attempt to weave our circumstances together to see if God is teaching us a valuable lesson? Nothing that happens in our lives is arbitrary. There are reasons for every little thing that happens; although, embracing this train of thought can sometimes border insanity, where we become trapped by paranoia. There seems to be a fine line between insanity and godliness; one that is often broken by men and women that can find themselves in different cults and even in mental institutions. They cross the line of self-examination and cannot see past themselves.
It is good to explore our circumstances and relate them to a biblical model of Sowing and Reaping, but it is also good to step back and humbly acknowledge that we cannot figure circumstances out without God and His Church guiding us! Fortunately for Alypius, he had one of the greatest mentors of the Church to ever live: Augustine, who even in his early years was an incredible asset to God’s people. I think mentors and friends within the Church can help us hash out - even unconscionably - between what God is showing us and what we are conjuring up from our own vain imaginations. Sowing and Reaping is a valuable theology, but only when embraced with care.