Better Than Luck

Better Than Luck

Romans 8:12-17

“It’s better to be lucky than good.”  We’ve all heard this expression.  Many of us have used it ourselves.  I certainly have.  To a great extent it’s true.  Someone can have all the skill in the world, but have an off-day and be beaten out by someone who just happens to be “on.”  Or, someone can be well-qualified, but not be in the right place at the right time and lose out to a person who is.  There is no accounting for luck.  It just happens.  It’s chance.

            Of course, there are those who don’t believe in chance.  My mother used to say “I don’t believe in luck.”  I’ve had someone tell me quite recently about a series of events that worked out to his advantage.  He was sure that chance played no part in it, that it was God’s leading.

            So where do you stand on this issue?  One view says that there is no such thing as random chance.  God directs our lives, sets up the circumstances under which we live, and we have no choice but to follow God’s leading.  If we take this view to the extreme we are just puppets moving in pre-ordained paths while God manipulates the strings. 

            The opposite view is that everything is chance.  God does not interfere at all, but allows us to do as we please.  This fits into the God-concept that emerged in the 18^th century, the Age of Reason.  They saw God as a divine clockmaker who created the universe, set things in motion, then stepped back and let the “clock” run itself.

            Most of us fall somewhere between these two extremes, although not all in the same place.  It’s difficult for me to even articulate where I stand on this issue.  I find myself using language from both sides.  I also find myself moving back and forth, sometimes tending towards one pole and sometimes towards the other.

            Paul’s letter to the Romans might help us as we try to puzzle out our positions.  In 8:12-17 he tells us that if we allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit we will be adopted into God’s family, becoming God’s sons and daughters.  We know how families operate.  Our parents tell us what to do when we are young.  As we mature, we get fewer commands from them and more suggestions—advice about how to live our lives.  Our parents eventually cut us loose, but by that time we should have grown enough to manage our own lives. 

            Perhaps this is how God works with us.  As we mature spiritually we find ourselves better understanding God’s will.  We are filled more and more with the Holy Spirit, and therefore able to make decisions that will affect our lives positively.  God helps us grow into mature Christians who know how to live in ways that are both pleasing to God and helpful to others.  This leading of the Holy Spirit is certainly better than luck.

            If we read farther into this chapter (verse 28) we hear Paul saying, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good.”  One of my seminary professors talks about God weaving a tapestry.  She says that, as we make decisions about the direction of our lives, God takes those decisions and weaves them together.  The pattern is not completely predetermined, but the resulting tapestry is God’s will.  Instead, God takes our lives and our decisions and uses them for God’s good purpose.

            In my life, God has frequently opened some doors and closed others.  Once a door is closed, it seems impossible for me to open it.  On the other hand, there is often an open door in front of me.  What I do with that door is up to me, but looking back I can see how God used me. 

How does God lead you?  How do you feel God working in your life?  Be aware that, in the end, God’s purpose will be served.  How that plays out depends on us.