Thought for Today
Genesis 30:11 And Leah said, "Good fortune!" so she named him Gad.
Ecclesiastes 9:11 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to the skillful; but time and chance happen to them all.
Isaiah 3:11 Woe to the guilty! How unfortunate they are, for what their hands have done shall be done to them.
Luke 10:31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
Happy (?) Friday the 13th! Obviously, on Friday the 13th one of the main things on our minds is luck. Do you believe in luck? In good luck? In bad luck? And, if you do, what are the operative rules governing luck? Are there any rules or is luck totally random chance?
Luck is defined as “1: to prosper or succeed especially through chance or good fortune; 2: to come upon something desirable by chance” (www.merriam-webster.com)
The Bible doesn’t directly say much about luck, good or bad. Neither does it tell us much about random chance. It does often suggest that what occurs in our lives, good or bad, is often the result of our own actions. The verse above from Isaiah is an example. But, it also suggests some randomness in the events and occurrences in our lives. The verse from Ecclesiastes offers that suggestion. So, which is correct?
One of the phrases Christians sometimes here is, “God is in control.” When I hear that phrase, I assume the person saying it means that everything which occurs is caused by God. I do not believe that is the case. I do not believe God intends for any of God’s children to suffer or ever even stub their toes. I believe God only wants the best in life for all of us.
Jesus does, however, tell us, ”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.”
Two ideas are on my mind, determinism and free will. Determinism is “A philosophical view that all humans and events are prescribed by the law of cause and effect so that human ‘freedom’ is denied as a reality.” (Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms, pg. 75) Free will is “A loose rendering of (Lat.) liberum arbitrium. The term seeks to describe the free choice of the will which all persons possess. “ (ibid, pg. 109)
I believe our problem is that we try to understand our world and the events we experience using our rules, not God’s rules. We try to understand why some seem ‘lucky’ based on our human value system. Someone is rich, famous, attractive, successful based on those things we aspire to achieve for ourselves. And, when we don’t attain those goals, we believe those who do are lucky.
God operates at a completely different level from our own. We worry about our relationship with God, our place in eternity, by looking at our success in this life. When we are in the midst of our lives, it is easy to forget, “Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—” Rich, famous, attractive, successful in material things, none of these are measures of our true success in life. Only faith truly matters. If we have faith, that faith will shine through the lives we live here and now.
I live in New England. Even if you are not a Patriots fan, you should be aware that the team has achieved an amazing turnaround in their win/loss record this year. As part of this, they adopted an unofficial motto, “We all we got. We all we need.” Ignoring the horrible grammar and the embarrassment it must cause for all of their elementary school teachers, I believe they have captured an important lesson for us all.
All any one of us has to work with is what we are given. God does not preload the deck for or against anyone. God gives each of us certain attributes, proclivities, talents, etc. with which to live our lives. God evaluates our lives based on what we do with what we are given. Obviously, my favorite Patriot is named Henderson. But, God does not think any less of me because I cannot run as fast as that professional football player, nor catch a football as well as he does. God evaluates us each based on what we were given and what we do with that. It is not luck, it is how each of us advances the Kingdom of Heaven with our God-given resources. It is about how the light of our faith shines out in our lives.
Stay safe, let your light shine, trust God,
Pastor Ray