Driving back from Mississippi the other day, I pulled up behind a car that had a sticker on the back bumper that read, “What are you 100% certain of in life?”

Bold white letters on a black sticker, the words jumped through my windshield, and it hit me between the eyes. For the next four hundred miles, I pondered the sticker statement.

I even went as far as googling the definition of the word ‘certain’ and here is what I found.

Certain: known for sure; established beyond doubt.

Now, I know for certain if I place my hand on a hot cooktop, I am going to get burnt. That is established beyond doubt, but I don’t think that is the type of certainty the designer of the sticker is looking for. I believe it goes a bit deeper than that.

After giving it some meaningful thought, I finally determined that the only thing I am 100% certain on in life is that I am not going to get out of it alive. Everything else, well, I am not so certain.

I certainly want to be kind, gracious, and forgiving to others, but I am not 100% certain I will be kind, gracious, and forgiving to others when given the opportunity. Sometimes I just don’t feel like it, and I selfishly miss out on a good thing.

I certainly want to make good decisions in my life, but I’m 100% certain I have a few poor decisions left in me if I am not careful.

To know for sure, beyond any doubt, on the deeper and more meaningful things in life can be difficult.

Even when it comes to my Christian faith, there are some things I am just not completely certain about. I believe I’m going to heaven after I die, but if you listen to some people in the faith, I am not gonna get it in.

I can see myself checking in at the golden gates and Peter telling me that my name has been flagged. “Uh, Mr. Howey, you are gonna need to walk down to the wooden gates and visit with Human Resources. Ask for John the Baptist, he has a few issues he wants to discuss with you before you can enter. Sorry, I’m just following policy and procedure, I hope you understand.”

According to my research, there are approximately five hundred million Buddhist, two billion Muslims, and nearly three billion Christians who practice their faith worldwide. That is not even counting “other” religious beliefs. All of whom I would think are completely certain of their religion.

I find it fascinating that millions and billions of people are 100% certain they are right, and everyone is wrong.

So, where is the certainty in that? I mean something has to give, we’re not all right.

I believe what I believe in my life because those things have established surety within me beyond doubt. It’s personal and has become a certainty for me even if others disagree. When questioned, my faith must kick in, because without faith, uncertainty will win the day.

Some things in my life have been established beyond doubt through personal experience. That is how I know some things for certain

We can all agree with 100% certainty that the Grim Reaper will come knocking one day on our door. That is known for sure and established beyond doubt. Outside of that, certainty in my life is my personal opinion based on my personal experiences, and my opinion may not match yours. It is right for me but might be wrong for you, and that’s okay. We can cordially agree to disagree like grown-ups. We all take different paths to discovering certainty in life.

I wished that sticker would have read, “What are you 100% hopeful of in life?” I can answer that question easily. I guess one could say I am much more hopeful about life than I am certain. I certainly hope that is not a bad thing.

Man, being certain in life can certainly be confusing.

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Todd Howey is a columnist for BrownwoodNews.com whose articles appear on Fridays. Email comments to [email protected].