Should Luck, Fortune, or Chance, Be Included in a Christian's Vocabulary?
Should the words luck, fortune, or chance, be they good or bad, be included in a Christian's vocabulary? Or do to the fact that God is all knowing and in sovereign control of our lives and of everything in our world negate their use entirely?
The word “Luck” does not have many direct synonyms, with “Fortune” and “Chance” being the nearest approximates, in my mind.
While there are many derivatives and subtleties among the usage of “Luck,” here is but one definition; Luck is the force that seems to operate for good or ill in a person's life, as in shaping circumstances, events, or opportunities. “With my luck, I'll probably get pneumonia” or “With any luck, she'll kiss me on prom night.”
The word “Chance” is defined as; the absence of any known cause of events that can be predicted, understood, or controlled. As is with luck, chance can be personified as a positive, negative or neutral factor like “The chance that he fell, allowed me to win the race” or “I took my chance passing the GED without studying but I flunked” or “That it was just a chance meeting, neither one of us had planned on going to the beach that day.”
The word “Fortune” can be defined as wealth. As in, “I made a fortune in the stock market”. But another dictionary definition involves; chance or luck, as in “Due only to bad fortune, each married the wrong person. It can also be used as luck; “Once I found that four-leaf clover, my fortune changed.”
So we see those three words, “Luck, Chance, and Fortune” certainly have overlapping meanings and each can be associated with good or bad. But do those three words have any biblical references, good or bad themselves? To find out more about all things good and/or evil, we should turn to the Bible. But which Bible? The Internet biblical resource “BibleGateway.com” offers more than fifty authorized English translations of the Bible.
Older translations, like the 1599 Geneva Bible (GNV) and the King James Bible, refrain from using the word “Luck” at all The same can be said of the New International Version (NIV). All three versions shy away from using the word.
So, not being able to read the original scrolls in any of the three original languages, most of us are left to review and study what is offered in the English language, modern or not. To be fair, let's specifically research some translations but we do not have the time to spend comparing all fifty versions in general. Does that sound fair?
The easy to read (ERV) version of the bible translates with simpler vocabulary and shorter sentences to make it easy to understand. The ERV uses Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (1984) as its Old Testament text with some readings from the Dead Sea Scrolls. Also, when its readings are considered most accurate, it follows the Septuagint, ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures. For the New Testament, the ERV uses the United Bible Societies' Greek New Testament and Nestle-Aland Novum Testament Graece (both revised, 1993). The ERV offers thought-for-thought or a functional equivalence method of translation. It is very useful for people who struggle with reading.
The Geneva Bible (GNV) is one of the most historically significant translations of the Bible into English, preceding the King James translation by more than fifty years. It was one of the Bibles taken to America on the Mayflower. It was the primary Bible of 16th century Protestantism and was the Bible used by William Shakespeare, Oliver Cromwell, and a host of other famous persons. This version of the Bible is significant because, for the very first time, it was mass-produced from one of the earliest printing presses and was made available directly to the general public. It offered scriptural study guides and aids, which allow the reader to cross-reference one verse with numerous relevant verses.
The New International Version (NIV) was originally published in the 1970s. The NIV was updated in 1984 and 2011. The core translation group consisted of fifteen Biblical scholars using Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts, whose goal was to produce a more modern English language text than the King James Version. The translation took ten years and involved a team of over 100 scholars from the USofA, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The range of those participating included many denominations, such as Anglicans, Assemblies of God, Baptist, Christian Reformed, Lutheran, and Presbyterian. The NIV seeks a balance between word-for-word and thought-for-thought or literal phrase by phrase translations. Recent archaeological and linguistic discoveries helped in understanding passages that have traditionally been difficult to translate.
So, with our baseline approach semi-defined, let's begin our studies.
Genesis 30:11
ERV Leah said, “I am lucky.” So she named her son Gad. [a] (Gad can mean good fortune, luck or a troop cometh)
GNV Then said Leah, “A company cometh: and she called his name, Gad”
NIV Then Leah said, “What good fortune!” So she named him Gad.
Here we have the two translations above referring to “Lucky or Good Fortune.” While the GNV says “A company cometh” What does that mean, 'a company or troop cometh'? I can't say?
So I looked at all 54 translations, or versions if you will, of the Bibles found at BibleGateway.com. Of interest, seven versions used “company or troop cometh.” Ten translations used “Luck or Lucky.” Twenty-nine used variations of the word “Fortune or fortune.” Combined, we find “Luck or fortune” is used more than 75% of the time. The remaining translations used various words like “Happy, Blessed, Things, Ventures” and the like.
Proverbs 17:8
ERV Some people think a bribe is like a lucky charm—it seems to work wherever they go.
GNV The reward hath great force to gain the hearts of men. A reward is as a stone pleasant in the eyes of them that have it: it prospereth, whithersoever it turneth.
NIV A bribe is seen as a charm by the one who gives it; they think success will come at every turn.
When viewing the Bible versions, we find less than a handful refer to “Luck”. Twelve refer to “Charm” but can we infer that means “Lucky Charms”? Sixteen translate as “Magic” or “Magical”. Twenty-six, or in other words, 52%, refer to a bribe, like a precious “Stone” or “Jewel”. If you are a mathematics major, you may have noticed we have more uses of our keywords because some words were used in combination.
Let's examine a different verse using the same type of methodology.
Isaiah 65:11
ERV But you people left the Lord, so you will be punished. You forgot about my holy mountain. You began to worship Luck. You held feasts for the false god, Fate.
GNV But ye are they that have forsaken the Lord, and forgotten mine holy Mountain, and have prepared a table for the multitude, and furnish the drink offerings unto the number.
NIV 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.
Nine biblical translations use the word “Luck.” Twenty used “Fortune or fortune”. “Worship, Gad, and troops complete the remainder of the translations.
When we try to find the word “Chance,” used with a meaning of “Luck,” in the Bible only one or two come to mind. The ERV says in 2 Chronicles 18:33, “Then a soldier pulled back on his bow and shot an arrow into the air. By chance, it hit the king of Israel between two pieces of his armor. King Ahab said to his chariot driver, “I’ve been hit! Turn the chariot around and take me off the battlefield!” The CEV translation of 1 Samuel 6:9 says, “ . . then the Lord had nothing to do with the disease that hit us—it was simply bad luck. All other translations use words like “Random, Unknowingly, or Without Aiming.”
Considering all the presentations above on “Luck” and its variations, the only consensus is, is there is not a consensus in the different versions of the Bible. That was a long narrative not to come to a conclusion. Wasn't it?
So maybe to find out if people, and specifically Christians, can have or not have luck, we need to search in a new direction.
Most Christians believe God is all knowing and exercises supreme control over everything. God is the creator and controller of the universe and of all things, breathing or nonliving. Any disposition He chooses over creation is His sovereign right. He is sovereign above all powers in every area of the universe. He is in control.
That said, my firm belief is that He, of His Supernatural Free Will, chooses to not to always control every facet of mankind every day. Without any doubt, our every breath comes only by His blessing. But our God-given free will is evidence that He allows us to make our own, unforced, choices. And the Bible addresses the casting of lots which is in some form “Luck or Chance.” The Bible, as I read it, does not specifically condemn this endeavor. The Bible does warn us, however, to stay away from the love of money, as in 1 Timothy 6:10 and Hebrews 13:5. Scripture also encourages us to stay away from attempts to “get rich quick” by vanity or dishonesty, as in Proverbs 13:11.
The casting of lots, when used to decide which tribe got what land, was considered to be a good thing, if not a Godly thing. Conversely, some feel the casting of lots for the remnants of the clothing Jesus wore was a bad thing. While I feel God may have used His will to allocate the lands to the tribes, I find no biblical support that He decided which way the garments of Jesus were to be dispersed.
For clarity of the argument on “Luck” while stepping outside the Bible, let's use this example. Two people go to a casino to pull the levers of the one-arm bandits. Does whether one or the other is or is not a Christian have a direct outcome on their winning or losing? What if neither nor both are Christians? Does that affect the outcome of their luck?
And if we say, for the sake of discussion, “one person lost heavily and one person won a $1,000 jackpot,” does that infer God chose an affirmative, fortunate intervention over one from the other? I think not. I think luck, chance, or fortune would be the appropriate terms to describe the events, good or bad. Would we want to say the winning gambler had “God's Blessing” while the loser suffered “God's Wrath!” Again, I think not. Did the Devil bless the winner?
I think gambling involves luck and chance. We “gamble” with so many things in our lives because we choose to do so many things in or with our lives. Isn't it more chancy to buy a used car over a new one? Isn't it chancy to buy a home? Isn't it chancy to walk across a busy street, sometimes even when you stay on the authorized walkways?
Like all the bumps and depression of our lives, we must take care and use common sense not to over do things, give ourselves to temptation, or forget who is our Creator. My reasons for putting forth this epistle were not to endorse gambling or encouraging your faith in luck, but merely to open a dialog on what the Bibles say and on what we should not automatically derive or add without careful considerations of His word.
Isaiah 65 is a wonderful chapter, worthy of being read by all. And verses 11-12 report, “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, I will destine you for the sword, and all of you will fall in the slaughter; for I called, but you did not answer. I spoke but you did not listen. You did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me.
But could this be understood to mean that if we do not forsake the Lord, and do not let wishes of fortune and belief in (false) Destiny overcome our lives, that we will not fall under His sword?
I believe that we can practice moderation of things or actions unless we are specifically told not to do so. For this, I reference the many Bible verses on moderation. 1 Corinthians 9:25, And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they [do it] to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 1 Corinthians 6:12, All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
Also, we might look into excerpts from Colossians 2, Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink . . . These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you . . .Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
I'll conclude by referring to a scripture verse herein presented in two translations. As a way of introducing a Bible verse into a secular novel I incorporated this verse into Deep Cover Takedown.
Ecclesiastes 9:11 CEV, Here is something else I have learned: The fastest runners and the greatest heroes don’t always win races and battles. Wisdom, intelligence, and skill don’t always make you healthy, rich, or popular. We each have our share of bad luck.
Ecclesiastes 9:11 KJV, I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
Luck is mentioned in one translation and chance in the latter. Go figure?
Given that I feel there is luck, chance, or fortune, both good and bad, which can affect our lives and whether fashioned from our own free will choices, the actions of others, the hand of God or the dealings of Satan, the three important considerations are;
how we handle it,
how what we do appears to others,
and Who we believe in.
All glory be to God.
Amen!
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