sandra's garden of peaceful thoughts

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!

Luck is a pagan, non-Christian concept that views good or bad fortune — and success — as a tangible thing unto itself. Certain items, like rabbits’ feet, four-leaf clovers, and other “good luck” charms” are said to “bring luck”. Certain days, and even people, are considered “lucky”. Seeking “luck” is closely connected with superstition, which in turn connected to magic. According to this world view, humans are at the mercy of unseen powerful and uncertain forces that may help or hurt us.

A blessing is very different from the idea of luck. God is Lord of the world. A blessing asks for His Divine Protection and help. Whereas luck can be good or bad, a blessing is always good. God’s care for us and the world is called Divine Providence. This concern for us is grounded in love, and is personal and real. By extension the symbols of God, such as the Cross, religious medals, or phylacta (little bags of earth from holy places), are powerful when they are used not as “lucky charms”, but as signs that we believe in God’s power and protection. They are not sources of power themselves but only point back to God. Those who do not know God are trapped in a world that is full of fears and evil forces that they try to manipulate with magic and superstition. Christians can look on life and not be afraid, for Christ has destroyed the power of evil. If we trust in Him and follow His ways, nothing can really harm us. Christians reject the very existence of the idea of “luck”. Attracting “luck” with a charm, a special day according to the zodiac, or other such things, is nonsense!

To quote Tiny Tim from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, “God bless us, everyone!”
URL: http://www.theologic.com/oflweb. This web site is donated and maintained by TheoLogic Systems, which provides software and information tools for Orthodox Christians and parishes world wide. ristmas Carol, “God bless us, everyone!”

Thanks to V.Rev.Fr. Nicholas Hughes, proistamenos of SS. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Mansfield, OH, for filling Father’s cassock for this issue!