Lucky?

September 29th, 2012| Topic: RaMbLeS | 3

Luck /lək/ (noun) ● success or failure apparently brought by chance

Did you know that houses with addresses that have lucky numbers in them sell for more? A study of a British Columbia neighborhood with a significant percentage of Chinese residents showed that house numbers ending in “8” sold at a 2.5% premium. Those ending with an unlucky “4” sold at a 2.2% discount.

(BTW, the Beijing Summer Olympics opened at 08:08:08 on the 8th day of the 8th month of 2008.)

And apparently bad luck exists as well. Meta-analyses of accident distribution in the general population show that the number of individuals with repeat accidents was higher than what one might expect by chance. Accident proneness is apparently real.

Luck! And superstition is supposedly not altogether a useless concept, creations of minds irrational. Studies show that activating good luck superstitions by saying “break a leg” or crossing one’s fingers or possessing a lucky charm actually improves performance in golf, memory, and other activities. Maybe it’s all due to a resulting increased confidence that, in turn, improves performance. Kinda like a placebo effect.

According to Richard Wiseman, author of The Luck Factor, “being in the right place at the right time is actually all about being in the right state of mind ….”

Even the Bible seems to agree with “chance,” if not luck.

So she [Ruth] departed and went and gleaned
in the field after the reapers;
and she happened by chance to come
to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz,
who was of the family of Elimelech.
Ruth 2:3

The young man who told him said,
“By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,
and behold, Saul was leaning on his spear.
And behold, the chariots and the horsemen pursued him closely.”
2 Samuel 1:6

And Jesus seems to agree. There is such a thing as “chance” or “luck.” In the story of the Good Samaritan, he recounts:

“And by chance a priest was going down on that road,
and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.”
Luke 10:31

But in other parts, the Bible seems to assert that nothing is truly random. God, who is a God of order, leaves nothing to chance. And nothing can be left to chance because God is completely sovereign.

The LORD has established His throne in the heavens,
And His sovereignty rules over all.
Psalm 103:19

From the smallest to the greatest ….

“Are not two sparrows sold for a cent?
And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”
Matthew 10:29–30

“Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these stars,
The One who leads forth their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power,
Not one of them is missing.”
Isaiah 40:26

From the microscopic to the astronomic. From the infinitesimal to the gargantuan. From molecular to planetary, all things are under his sovereignty.

The lot is cast into the lap,
But its every decision is from the LORD.
Proverbs 16:33

So much so, there is likely no such thing as “luck,” except from a human, less-then-comprehensive perspective.

After commenting about the birds, Jesus declared:

“So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.”
Matthew 10:31

Indeed!

And we know that God causes all things to work together
for good to those who love God ….
Romans 8:28

Don’t trust “luck.” Trust God instead!