Is Luck Biblical?
In light of the fast approaching St. Patrcick’s day holiday, I thought we’d take a look at luck. Ok. We’re not talking magic here, but is there any merit to luck on a biblical level?
You and I both know people who seem to consistently fall effortlessly onto a cushion of good fortune. Conversely, we also know people who can’t seem to buy a break. Sure, attitude is a large part of one’s reaction to their given circumstances, but is there something else to luck?
UK psychologist Richard Wiseman thinks so. He launched a study on luck. Here’s his description of the survey:
I placed advertisements in national newspapers and magazines, asking for people who felt consistently lucky or unlucky to contact me. Over the years, 400 extraordinary men and women volunteered for my research from all walks of life: the youngest is an 18-year-old student, the oldest an 84-year-old retired accountant.
The findings [of the study] have revealed that although unlucky people have almost no insight into the real causes of their good and bad luck, their thoughts and behaviour are responsible for much of their fortune.
Take the case of chance opportunities. Lucky people consistently encounter such opportunities, whereas unlucky people do not. I carried out a simple experiment to discover whether this was due to differences in their ability to spot such opportunities.
Wiseman suggests that the “lucky” participants in his study created their own luck using four principles:
- Skilled at creating and noticing chance opportunities.
- Make lucky decisions by listening to their intuition.
- Create self-fulfilling prophesies via positive expectations.
- Adopt a resilient attitude that transforms bad luck into good.
Wiseman concludes that, “Unlucky people often fail to follow their intuition when making a choice, whereas lucky people tend to respect hunches. Unlucky people tend to be creatures of routine. They tend to take the same route to and from work and talk to the same types of people at parties. In contrast, many lucky people try to introduce variety into their lives. Lucky people tend to see the positive side of their ill fortune. They imagine how things could have been worse.”
Granted this is one study, but the results speak for themselves. Is there anything that Christians can learn from this? Where might the principles of “luck” intersect with the teachings of Scripture?
I can't think of any intersection of scripture and luck, what I can thin of is times where people might look lucky but did what Wiseman concluded in his study.
The first situation that comes to my mind is the Women who was subject to bleeding and touched the edge of Jesus cloak. Some might say she was very lucky, I might say that she literally grab hold of the situation and maybe even followed a hunch but really was proclaiming who Jesus was.
Often times I think that I never catch a break, then I look back at all the opportunities that I have had and will continue to have and am reminded of what I am doing and where I am going. Call it luck or God leading, but I feel like I blessed by what I am doing now.
No we're talking, Kyle. Love your insights here, man.
Well done. Way to look deeper!
I thought you might appreciate this view of luck from “Luck Has Nothing to Do With It” – The significance of crediting “Luck†to the blessings that come from God found at http://bit.ly/ajlZqA
An interesting perspective from the article:
“It seems harmless, but the truth is, using the little four-letter word most often dismisses a perfect opportunity to give God the glory.”
I was taught by my father to not say the work luck or lucky. He explained that there is no such thing as luck, but it is only blessings from God. That really helped me personally understand that good things come from our father above. I think that if you think something is luck, or is lucky, it takes emphasis away from the good things that God does in our lives.
One example of this is tithing and giving to missions. I remember countless people testifiying when I grew up, and still today, that they were in a place where they had to decide whether to pay their mortgage payment or pay tithes. When they were faithful and paid their tithes, the money for their mortgage “mysteriously” came to them. Of course they knew that this “good fortune” was not luck, but a blessing from God.
I challenge others to remove the word “Luck” from their vocabularies and use “Blessing” instead.
Following intuition as the voice of God is an interesting study with scriptual backing. Or better yet, following intuition and realization years later it was the voice of God is more people's experience I think.
There's an interesting read about how police officers are more likely to stay alive in a shootout situation without a partner than with because they have one less dynamicto consider and therefore they use intuition more. Another interesting read about how doctors disagnose a problem at a higher percentage if they are only allowed to check only 5 symptoms and “guess” from intuition rather than 15 symptoms. The idea being that the more elements examined in a rationale process tends to snuff intuition and act as a distraction which then leads to wrong conclusions.
Intuition vs. Rationale Process is an age old debate…meaning its been going on for centuries which means that the answer is not a either/or but a both/and. That just means we need to know how to steward both so we don't snuff one in the favor of the other. That's where the danger is.
Justin-
Being Irish…my family always said “well that was some good luck” or “I'm just down on my luck right now” however, I don't believe it's a matter of luck. It's a matter of attitude. I have been “unlucky” when I didn't follow my gut. When I MADE the bad choices. Life is not about luck, but about choices. Even in the way we choose to react to what we perceive as a bad outcome. I have learned though….that even those outcomes which seem bad at the time, teach a lesson and grow me as a person and in my faith. It's those choices, those ups and downs, that have made me who I am. I have learned to not live by circumstance, but by faith. I'm not lucky….I'm blessed by God. I'm loved by God.
Love that quote. I'm stealing it
Is a rose, by any other name, still a rose?
Love your insight, Mike. I read this comment like five times.
NINA! Like the distinction …. Well done!
Justin-
Being Irish…my family always said “well that was some good luck” or “I'm just down on my luck right now” however, I don't believe it's a matter of luck. It's a matter of attitude. I have been “unlucky” when I didn't follow my gut. When I MADE the bad choices. Life is not about luck, but about choices. Even in the way we choose to react to what we perceive as a bad outcome. I have learned though….that even those outcomes which seem bad at the time, teach a lesson and grow me as a person and in my faith. It's those choices, those ups and downs, that have made me who I am. I have learned to not live by circumstance, but by faith. I'm not lucky….I'm blessed by God. I'm loved by God.
Love that quote. I'm stealing it
Is a rose, by any other name, still a rose?
Love your insight, Mike. I read this comment like five times.
NINA! Like the distinction …. Well done!