Do you think we’re shaped more by our experiences or by who we are?
Do We Become Who We Are, or Are We Born That Way?
My immediate answer: both. We are shaped by the dynamic interplay of DNA and lived experience. Our genetic code provides the raw foundation, while our environment—the places we inhabit, the relationships we nurture, the choices we make—wires our neural pathways and determines how those innate traits unfold over time. Some argue that DNA accounts for barely 10% of character formation; others insist on 30% or more. The truth likely lies somewhere in between, shifting with each life.
In nearly every Chinese household, an old saying endures: “At three years old, eighty is fixed.” Western culture echoes this with Wordsworth’s line: “The child is father of the man.” Both suggest that the seeds of character are sown early—that our focus should fall on nurturing the young.
Yet there is another voice in Chinese society—one that speaks of “bad seeds,” as if some are born irredeemably flawed, beyond all hope of change. This premise invites deeper questions: What is a good seed? What is a bad seed? The Bible offers the parable of the four soils (Matthew 13:1-9), reminding us that even good seed can be choked by thorns or scorched by shallowness.
Whether we are born good or bad, shaped by DNA or experience, there remains one more dimension: the divine. The seed may sprout, but it competes with weeds. Worldly worries, the pursuit of wealth, the weight of stress—these can crowd out spiritual growth, leaving life barren.
Take me, for example. I was born with a strong character—a necessary trait in my profession, reinforced throughout my career. But my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ has gradually transformed me into a more patient, humble, and merciful person. Even when I am in the right, I find myself forgiving far more readily than I once did. The Lord’s teaching in Matthew 5:3-10—the Beatitudes—has reshaped my heart from the inside out. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” I once dismissed meekness as weakness; now I embrace it as power surrendered to God.
So my ultimate response stands: We are the product of how our unique, inborn characteristics interact with the environments and situations we navigate. And for the Christian, there is a vision that transcends the visible—a life illuminated from beyond.
The Lord of Life—Jesus Christ—declares:
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”— John 8:12
May this poem invite you to ponder not only who we are, but who we truly long to become.
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✨ Good and Evil Do Not Mix ✨
A good tree bears good fruit,
A bad tree yields bad fruit—
The good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
Nor can the bad tree yield good fruit.
The world is vast, temptations vast—
Good turns to evil, evil turns to worse.
Must one be reborn in spirit,
Or be ground to dust and shattered?
It is the “Light” that shows the way,
Revealing what is true.
—
en yan hua fang 