God is luck’s master. Proverbs 16:33 says, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.”
We hear about people who had extraordinary things happen to them, both good and bad. We hear of people who won the lottery, and some ask themselves, ‘Why can’t we be that lucky?’ We hear of other people who are stricken with cancer, and some ask themselves, ‘Why her?’ and some would answer, ‘It’s her bad luck.’ In my own experience, my parents submitted a lottery ticket for a piano when I was an infant, and out of 10,000 entries, their ticket was picked. Some would say that my parents were very lucky. And, there is the so-called ovarian lottery in which a person is born into a rich family, but that same ovarian lottery can cause a person to be born in a poor family or in a poor country.
To these, some would say, ‘As Luck would have it…” But luck has nothing to do with it. Everything is the result of God, who has established out steps and laid out our paths. In that regard, the casinos in places like Los Vegas are as much temples of God as the places of worship we are accustomed to. For God decides who wins and who loses, all according to His purpose as referred to in Romans 8:28 and Jeremiah 29:11.
We know that Jesus chased the gamblers out of a synagogue on the Sabbath. But in the context of the Bible, he didn’t chase them out because they were gambling, he chased them out because of the day in which they were gambling. For the Bible tells us that on the Sabbath all work for gain ceases until sundown with some exceptions, none of which apply to gambling.
The adage ‘If it was meant to be, it is meant to be,’ is really true under God. Problem is, nobody truly knows why God does things. Nobody knows, for instance, why God lets wicked people live a long time, while he gives a short life on earth to those we would have liked to have lived longer. We can only rely on Proverbs 3:5 which says to trust in God with all your heart and do not depend on your own understanding.
So, for some people who go to casinos to gamble hour after hour, they don’t know if or when God will make them lucky. They are undecided, hoping against hope that the next roll of the dice or the next spin of the roulette wheel, or the next hand of cards, or the next pull of the one-arm bandit will bring them good luck. They don’t know if God intends that they win on the second time, or the fifth time, or the fiftieth time, or no time. Would a true believer of God keep playing, with faith that God will make them win?
Or would a true believe use their ability to discern what is prudent and what isn’t, enough to know when it is time to walk away from the casino? Because, thanks to Adam and Eve who ate from the Tree of knowledge, we can think for ourselves. And we have the Bible that tells us to love eachother and to mind our households. Because at some point a true believer in God will make an assessment of the resources they have left, and they ask themselves, ‘Will I have enough money for me and my family to keep gambling, or should I stop now while I still have my shirt?’ In that situation, God could hardly blame us if we stop gambling.
Perhaps He was testing us to see how far we would go for our own self-gratification. Or maybe he planned for us to keep gambling until we have nothing left, so we may also fulfill other plans He has for us. For all of us, as it is written in Jeremiah 29:11, God has plans for a future and a hope. Where could a ruined person go? They could get help, and in so doing, meet up with someone they can be friends with, who happens to be rich. Or, after they are cured, they could help others, thereby contributing to their well-being. Perhaps having done so, they could enter politics and make the government provide for others who are needy.
What about those who, as some would say, ‘As luck would have it,’ be stricken with terminal cancer? Where is the future and hope for them that God promised? Well, their future may well be in the House of the Lord, a place where all of us who are aware of it would like to be.
A person’s luck truly comes from God.
We hear about people who had extraordinary things happen to them, both good and bad. We hear of people who won the lottery, and some ask themselves, ‘Why can’t we be that lucky?’ We hear of other people who are stricken with cancer, and some ask themselves, ‘Why her?’ and some would answer, ‘It’s her bad luck.’ In my own experience, my parents submitted a lottery ticket for a piano when I was an infant, and out of 10,000 entries, their ticket was picked. Some would say that my parents were very lucky. And, there is the so-called ovarian lottery in which a person is born into a rich family, but that same ovarian lottery can cause a person to be born in a poor family or in a poor country.
To these, some would say, ‘As Luck would have it…” But luck has nothing to do with it. Everything is the result of God, who has established out steps and laid out our paths. In that regard, the casinos in places like Los Vegas are as much temples of God as the places of worship we are accustomed to. For God decides who wins and who loses, all according to His purpose as referred to in Romans 8:28 and Jeremiah 29:11.
We know that Jesus chased the gamblers out of a synagogue on the Sabbath. But in the context of the Bible, he didn’t chase them out because they were gambling, he chased them out because of the day in which they were gambling. For the Bible tells us that on the Sabbath all work for gain ceases until sundown with some exceptions, none of which apply to gambling.
The adage ‘If it was meant to be, it is meant to be,’ is really true under God. Problem is, nobody truly knows why God does things. Nobody knows, for instance, why God lets wicked people live a long time, while he gives a short life on earth to those we would have liked to have lived longer. We can only rely on Proverbs 3:5 which says to trust in God with all your heart and do not depend on your own understanding.
So, for some people who go to casinos to gamble hour after hour, they don’t know if or when God will make them lucky. They are undecided, hoping against hope that the next roll of the dice or the next spin of the roulette wheel, or the next hand of cards, or the next pull of the one-arm bandit will bring them good luck. They don’t know if God intends that they win on the second time, or the fifth time, or the fiftieth time, or no time. Would a true believer of God keep playing, with faith that God will make them win?
Or would a true believe use their ability to discern what is prudent and what isn’t, enough to know when it is time to walk away from the casino? Because, thanks to Adam and Eve who ate from the Tree of knowledge, we can think for ourselves. And we have the Bible that tells us to love eachother and to mind our households. Because at some point a true believer in God will make an assessment of the resources they have left, and they ask themselves, ‘Will I have enough money for me and my family to keep gambling, or should I stop now while I still have my shirt?’ In that situation, God could hardly blame us if we stop gambling.
Perhaps He was testing us to see how far we would go for our own self-gratification. Or maybe he planned for us to keep gambling until we have nothing left, so we may also fulfill other plans He has for us. For all of us, as it is written in Jeremiah 29:11, God has plans for a future and a hope. Where could a ruined person go? They could get help, and in so doing, meet up with someone they can be friends with, who happens to be rich. Or, after they are cured, they could help others, thereby contributing to their well-being. Perhaps having done so, they could enter politics and make the government provide for others who are needy.
What about those who, as some would say, ‘As luck would have it,’ be stricken with terminal cancer? Where is the future and hope for them that God promised? Well, their future may well be in the House of the Lord, a place where all of us who are aware of it would like to be.
A person’s luck truly comes from God.
