The conflict in terms comes up all the time, and especially recently during the Haitian earthquake tragedy and aftermath.

 

Why is it "luck" when a bad call goes in your team's favor, or someone wins the lottery for $10 mil, but they're "blessed" when they hit the birth lottery and end up popping out in the US, Britian or Germany as opposed to some Third-World hell such as Haiti or Somalia?

 

When does it stop being luck and start being a blessing? :confused:

I've always felt like "good luck" is a blessing.

I think we make our own "luck".

I've always considered the distinction to lie in degree of importance. I think the Lord blesses us with the important things he wants us to have. Luck takes care of the little things, like games, sports, and finding a dollar on the sidewalk.

No such thing as luck. I wasn't born in a third world county because my parents are from a third world country.

 

It is what it is.

Blessings from God do not come in material things, money, homes, cars, clothes, even health. God's blessing comes in the form of the Hope/Faith that I have that whatever my luck, God will see me through it. That is what a blessing is. God does not offer proseperity.

Blessings from God do not come in material things, money, homes, cars, clothes, even health. God's blessing comes in the form of the Hope/Faith that I have that whatever my luck, God will see me through it. That is what a blessing is. God does not offer proseperity.

Everything that is good comes from God.

Everything that is good comes from God.

 

This twist to this logic is defining what is "good".

Blessings from God do not come in material things, money, homes, cars, clothes, even health. God's blessing comes in the form of the Hope/Faith that I have that whatever my luck, God will see me through it. That is what a blessing is. God does not offer proseperity.

Personally, I wouldn't even think to speak for God.

This twist to this logic is defining what is "good".

I don't think that's really for us to know. What may seem like a bad thing, may be for our own good, or serve a greater purpose.

I don't think that's really for us to know. What may seem like a bad thing, may be for our own good, or serve a greater purpose.

 

I agree. Too many times our immediate pay-off, right now ways of thinking make big picture "good" hard to see. (I am including myself in this group of people)

For me, the question posed is a challenging one on many levels. On one hand, it’s inconceivable that I could have done anything to be rewarded at a greater level than many other people in the world. I’ve done nothing to earn a divine boost to my happiness in life that millions of others in suffering haven’t done. This suggests that if God is playing an active role in doling out blessings to some and not others, or even condemning some to misery in life, that it is done rather arbitrarily. This leads me to believe that God doesn’t meddle with our lives, which we are left to our own devices to make it through. God may know us, but is not actively manipulating us or our circumstances.

 

On the other hand, there is something comforting in believing a higher being is there to help us out. All my life I have asked God for things. Even though I’ve raised my doubts about his role in our lives, I continue to ask for things, to seek help. Is this something like a security blanket, or is it substantiatable? I don’t know. I can think of a few verses that are often used here, but I don’t believe they lead to a definitive conclusion. I also think this view is difficult to square with something like the circumstances of our births. Why are some blessed being born into better situations than others?

 

From my reading and interpretation of the Bible, I do believe we are meant to achieve happiness on earth, not merely to slave away until our deaths waiting for the afterlife. Though, people too often mistake things such as health or economic prosperity with happiness, when happiness is something much more transcendent. Therefore, the answer may be a combination of the previous, we may all receive the same blessing, which is the freedom from sin and ability to find happiness, but to suggest the next raise one receives is an act of God may be more far-fetched than many of us, including me, are ready to accept. But, I am interesting in hearing other perspectives.

For me, the question posed is a challenging one on many levels. On one hand, it’s inconceivable that I could have done anything to be rewarded at a greater level than many other people in the world. I’ve done nothing to earn a divine boost to my happiness in life that millions of others in suffering haven’t done. This suggests that if God is playing an active role in doling out blessings to some and not others, or even condemning some to misery in life, that it is done rather arbitrarily. This leads me to believe that God doesn’t meddle with our lives, which we are left to our own devices to make it through. God may know us, but is not actively manipulating us or our circumstances.

 

On the other hand, there is something comforting in believing a higher being is there to help us out. All my life I have asked God for things. Even though I’ve raised my doubts about his role in our lives, I continue to ask for things, to seek help. Is this something like a security blanket, or is it substantiatable? I don’t know. I can think of a few verses that are often used here, but I don’t believe they lead to a definitive conclusion. I also think this view is difficult to square with something like the circumstances of our births. Why are some blessed being born into better situations than others?

 

From my reading and interpretation of the Bible, I do believe we are meant to achieve happiness on earth, not merely to slave away until our deaths waiting for the afterlife. Though, people too often mistake things such as health or economic prosperity with happiness, when happiness is something much more transcendent. Therefore, the answer may be a combination of the previous, we may all receive the same blessing, which is the freedom from sin and ability to find happiness, but to suggest the next raise one receives is an act of God may be more far-fetched than many of us, including me, are ready to accept. But, I am interesting in hearing other perspectives.

 

A lucid response and one I find great agreement with.

Personally, I wouldn't even think to speak for God.

 

Nor would I, just using the mind God gave me and the scripture that I read.

Luck can be either good or bad, a blessing is always good. Webster’s dictionary defines luck as the “force that brings good or bad”. The ancient Greeks and Romans used to worship luck in the form of the goddess Fortuna. Her name even became another word for luck, ‘fortune’. A blessing is defined as “to invoke Divine Care”. The source of blessings is God Himself!