The Count of Monte Cristo

one

Tragedy shakes our faith

Too many people misunderstand The Count of Monte Cristo. They call it the ultimate revenge story. But it’s not! I’m going to explain why without spoiling the story (because you must read it yourself).

a.   Edmund Dantes, who becomes the Count of Monte Cristo is a sailor with a promising future, a beautiful fiancé, and a loving father. Out of envy his friends betray him to ruin him and steal his girl. He is falsely accused and thrown in prison, losing everything - his freedom, his fiancé, his father, his future - everything.

b.   How could God let this happen?

c.   We’ve all felt this way before. We’re faced with a tragedy, something we do not deserve, and we ask “Why God, why?”

d.   Why do bad things happen to good people?

Isn’t it ironic? We live by faith or reliance in ourselves and we try to control everything, but when things go badly we blame God.

We ask because we live under the illusion that we are in control.

We don’t trust Divine Providence.

And when tragedy strikes, it shakes our faith. But not our faith in God – it shakes our faith in ourselves, our illusion of control.

two

The illusion of control

We think that if we have enough foresight, make the right decisions, and control all the variables - we can protect ourselves and our loved ones against loss. This is where Edmund Dantes is at the beginning of his story, he lives under this illusion of control.

Then God allows the illusion to be dispelled. Betrayed and imprisoned there is no way Dantes could have guessed this would happen.

But the fact is there are infinite variables in life beyond our control.

But under the illusion of control, we, like Dantes, try to control them all! The result is an endless cycle of fear, anxiety, and anger.

However, God in His Providence was guiding all things for his good. Dantes is placed in a cell next to a priest full of wisdom who educates him. And this priest just happens to know where a treasure is buried. Fourteen years later, Dantes finally escapes prison, finds the treasure and then sets about to orchestrate the undoing of all his enemies. 

But in the process of trying to control every detail involved in ruining his betrayers Dantes becomes more and more enslaved by the effort to control everything.  

three

Dantes has two slaves, Ali and Heide, whom he cares for so well that they have no concerns, no anxieties, no worries.

In scene after scene, Dantes, goes to such extravagant lengths to arrange the undoing of his enemies that he is frantic and exhausted.

Ironically, his slaves are totally relaxed and at peace because they know he has everything under control.

So who is free – the Count or his slaves he cares for?

If you have no one to rely on but yourself, you become a slave to the futile effort to control everything.

On the other hand, if there is Someone who is All-good, All-knowing, and All-Powerful you can depend upon – then we are set free from the slaver of self-reliance.

That Person is God our Father, and He is guiding all things for our good.

We call the way God guides all things to good – Divine Providence.

Providence comes from the word Pro-videre (to see things on our behalf)

A.  From all eternity God saw what you are going through right now; You couldn’t see what was coming, but he did.

B.  Even though you can’t understand what you are going through, even if you don’t know what to do, God does, He is with you, and He sees it, meaning, He understands it on your behalf.

C. No matter what you are going through, God will see that it works in your favor, if you cooperate with Him.

D. So, don’t lose your head and do something stupid just because you can’t see the big picture or do what seemingly needs to be done.

E.  Maybe you can’t do what you wanted but don’t let that stop you from doing what you can.

F.  Take responsibility, think – do what you can and don’t procrastinate.

G. Finally – Surrender the rest to God because His providence will take care of everything that is beyond your control or your scope of responsibility.

four

Edmund’s view was too small.

Nothing can happen in life unless God wills or permits it. And if He permits it, then God will work it for your good.

St. Catherine of Siena had a simple answer for those who were scandalized and rebelled against what happened to them: "Everything comes from love, all is ordained for the salvation of man, God does nothing without this goal in mind."

He couldn’t see the future. He didn’t know that in losing his freedom, being imprisoned, and then obtaining a great fortune and becoming the Count of Monte Cristo and be given the agency to care for many people, precisely because of his unfortunate circumstances.

For much of the book, Edmund doesn’t recognize the great gift he’s been given. He refuses to rely upon God, he refuses to see how the life he wanted was not nearly as good as the life he needed, the life he got.

In the same way, we can ruin the good God wants to do in our lives by making stupid and sinful decisions based on fear or disordered desires. Yet, even then, if we turn our back to God, he will utilize even our greatest mistakes for our greatest good. Even when Dantes turned away from God, God did not turn away from him. And even these mistakes were woven into the great story of his life, a story of trust and providence.

five

The final step is to surrender without anxiety or worry.

Surrendering to God does not mean giving up. It does not dispense us from taking responsibility and doing our part to fulfill God’s will. But in doing our part, we don’t try to do God’s part. We cannot guide all things.

So long as we have the sincere desire to carry out His will, we can abandon ourselves to the divine will, no matter how mysterious it may be. For our part, we must have a firm hope in God’s assistance and put our trust in Him, being careful at the same time to fulfill our responsibilities and do His will.

Remember, hope simply says, “It will turn out well for me, for my family, for mankind.” while despair says, “It will turn out badly.

This is why the last words of The Count of Monte Cristo are simply, “Wait and hope.”

        Because, in the end, Edmund finally realizes that he can stop. He can relax. He can abandon himself to God. All he must do is wait…and hope. That is what we must do…wait…and hope.

        Trust in His Providence.