"Good Luck!" ???
Why do Christians say "Good luck!"?
Don't they know they are denying the sovereign
God who loves them every time they tell someone, "Good
luck!"?
I understand the worldly habits each of us are
enslaved to. May the Lord set us free! I had been a Christian
quite awhile before I finally realized that wishing luck for
someone was incompatible with trusting in the Lord Jesus.
At best, luck is about "chance". At
worst, luck is about the occult concept of karma.
When some people think of luck, they are
meaning something to do with randomness... probabilities...
accidents... chance. But to say that the universe is operated
based on chance is to say there is no God.
1 The fool has said in his heart,
"There is no God." They are corrupt, they have done
abominable works, there is none who does good.
2 The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men,
to see if there are any who understand, who seek God.
3 They have all turned aside, they have together become
corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one.
Psalm 14:1-3
But when we promote the concept of luck we
really are yoking ourselves with the pagan occult concept of
Karma: "What
goes around, comes around!"...
"Good luck!"..."I wish you good karma not bad
karma."... "I wish you good luck not bad luck".
But if it is the cultural norm, why shouldn't a
Christian say, "good luck"? I agree that we should be
willing to become all things to all people so that some may be
saved (1Corinthians 9:22). However, in the context of scripture
that means to "become all things" without compromising
the truth of God's Word.
Why can't we say something encouraging that
does not compromise the truth? Check out some examples from
scripture:
"Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying,
'This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say
to them: "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make
His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD
lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace." '
Numbers 6:23-26
"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you
all."
Romans 16:24
23 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
24 My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.
1 Corinthians 16:23-24
14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
2 Corinthians 13:14
18 Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your
spirit. Amen.
Galatians 6:18
23 Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in
sincerity. Amen.
Ephesians 6:23-24
25 Grace be with you all. Amen.
Hebrews 13:25
14 Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to you all
who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.
1 Peter 5:14
21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
I John 5:21
21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
Revelation 22:21
There may be some who do not want to be saying
something "religious" because they are ashamed of the
Gospel. But we should have the conviction that Paul speaks to:
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of
Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone
who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
Romans 1:16
Others may recognize there is a time for
speaking up about the Gospel and there is a time for simply being
a friend. And here, I agree, that there are times that I don't
want to impose what may sound like religious language upon a non-Christian friend. In this case I may not want to say,
"The Lord bless you!"
But whether we replace "good luck"
with the "Lord bless your life" or with something
else... I think it is crucial that we not compromise the truth of
who God is.
I recommend that we always communicate love and
encouragement with a heart to be true to the God of Romans 8:28.
