Thought for Today
Isaiah 65:11 But you who forsake the LORD, who forget my holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny;
Jeremiah 32:42 For thus says the LORD: Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good fortune that I now promise them.
Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.
Do you believe in luck? Or, is what most of us think of as luck merely an expression of the workings of a deterministic universe? “Determinism is the metaphysical view that all events within the universe can occur only in one possible way.” (en.wikipedia.org)
We have numerous aphorisms and adages in our vernacular about luck. “I’d rather be lucky than good.” “Fortune favors the bold.” “Luck is a fickle mistress.” But, at the end of the day, do you believe life and success are defined by luck?
When 2 people stand in line to buy lottery tickets with a ‘prize’ of $1 billion and 1 gets a randomly generated winning ticket and the other gets merely random numbers, is that an example of the good luck of 1 and the bad luck of the other? Many of us have heard friends or family brag about how lucky they are at the tables in Los Vegas, of how the casinos shower them with complimentary rooms, food and beverages. Yet, for most of us it is more common to run out of quarters on the first slot machine we try. Is it the good luck of everyone else versus our own bad luck? Do you even believe in luck at all?
Maybe, instead you believe in the branch of mathematics dealing with probabilities and odds. Most college degrees in business today require at least some proficiency in statistical analysis. Even during my engineering studies, I took a course in statistical thermodynamics. Even if you have never taken any such courses, you know that when you flip a coin, there are only 2 possible results (ignoring the possibility that the coin hits the ground and rolls into a sewer grate). It is theoretically possible for the coin to land on its edge, but it will almost assuredly land either heads up or tails up. All other factors being equal, the odds of either result are 50-50. If you flip that coin enough times, you will get an equal distribution of heads and tails. When you don’t , do you believe in luck, or do you believe you have just not flipped the coin enough times?
I am a Christian. When asked whether I believe in something or do not, I am always tempted to respond, “I believe in Jesus Christ.” When I ponder questions like “Do you believe in luck?,” I first turn to the Bible and especially the words of Jesus. Interestingly, the word luck does not appear in the Bible. I was able to find the phrase ‘good fortune’ twice, both times in the Old Testament. Is good fortune the same as good luck?
When I look at my Bible, the verses I find on the whole topic seem to me to suggest that our considerations of luck are asking the wrong question, looking for answers in all the wrong places. Jesus’ words about sunshine and rainfall suggest to me that our lives are not about luck, but rather are about our relationship with our Creator God and with each other.
Cloudy skies, floods, droughts, storms, etc. are merely meteorological phenomena. The Creation narrative in Genesis tells me that God created Creation. God created our sun, moon, stars, etc. All of the elements of reality were created by God. Gravity, electricity, magnetism, dark matter, dark energy, everything which exists all were created by God. God created all of us; all of us are subject to all of the things and all of the forces God created.
What I do find in the Bible as a significant factor in our lives is righteousness. “Genesis 15:6 And he believed the LORD; and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness.” God’s promise in the Abrahamic Covenant was not about luck or good fortune, it was in response to Abraham’s righteousness. Jesus reminds us, “Matthew 6:32 For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Most of us are Gentiles, included in τὰ ἔθνη, the nations which Jesus referenced. However, all of us are God’s children are encouraged to strive first for the kingdom of God. I’d rather be righteous than lucky.
Stive to be righteous, to advance the Kingdom of God, trust God,
Pastor Ray