“Luck” and the Believer
February 11, 2008
Dear Friends,
I don’t believe in chance, fortune or luck. These ideas do appear in the Bible, but they are always associated with paganism. For example, in the story of the ark falling into the hands of the Philistines, we see their strong belief in chance shine through when they put the ark on the ox cart. They said:
If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shemesh, then the LORD has brought this great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us and that it happened to us by chance. (1 Sam. 6:9 NIV)
Of course, the ox cart was not guided by chance, but by the living God of Israel.
We also see the prophet Isaiah denounce those that held the belief in god of Fortune (the god of good luck) when he says:
But as for you who forsake the LORD and forget my holy mountain, who spread a table for Fortune and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny.
There are only two wills at play on the earth – God’s will and man’s will. Man has been given the ability to think and act within the confines that God has granted him. God has not given man unlimited possibilities. Our possibilities are limited by God’s providence, his natural laws which He actively controls and His plan for this earth. For example, the idea of unlimited free will is obliterated by James’ comments:
Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. (James 4:13-14)
We may say we are going to work tomorrow, but any of a number of God-controlled factors may stop us from going such as sickness, weather or even death. It is naïve for man to think he is in control of his “destiny.” The Proverbs testify to the wisdom in recognizing God’s guiding hand when we are taught “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.” (Pr. 16:9 NIV)
This discussion of chance versus providence is an important one for the believer to consider as it has very practical ramifications for every day living. When we go through life, do we see the things going on around us as “random” or “luck” or do we see God at work? Do we believe the promise that “all things work together for good to them that love God” or is that simply a platitude that is nice to hear but not really true? Do we plow forward “through the valley of the shadow of death” knowing that God is with us or perhaps He is involved with bigger things at the moment and can’t be bothered? Do we believe in “good luck” or God’s blessing?
This discussion also has very pragmatic implications for how we view trials. Do we see the chastening of the Lord in trials which will “yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness” or do we see some random circumstances with no value to them except the senseless suffering of those affected? How would we ever know the difference between a chance act or an act from the Lord? How could we ever “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds” (James 1:2 NIV) if sometimes those trials were meaningless instances of bad fortune rather than directed by God for our good?
There is only one verse in the Bible, which has confused many, that even hints at randomness in the world and that is “but time and chance happeneth to them all” in Ecclesiastes 9:11. We will show next week, Lord willing, what this verse really means.
Have a great week,
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