The idea of Christianity and luck, whether it be the good variety or the bad kind, is found in every society of the world. Every culture has good luck charms as well as gestures thought to generate either good luck or bad luck (i.e. crossing your fingers or walking under a ladder). But the entire idea of luck of any kind is unchristian. Here are some reasons I say that.

First, luck doesn’t exist; it has the same status as a werewolf or the boogeyman.

Neither the word nor the concept of luck (Christianity and luck) ever appears in Scripture and it cannot involve God, because if God caused something, it couldn’t have been caused by mere chance which is the definition of luck. There have been countless scientific experiments conducted to see if certain charms or actions produce luck of any kind. Professor Richard Wiseman in England authored the book The Luck Factor in which he described hundreds of experiments conducted with stringent scientific protocols in an attempt to prove the existence of luck. After many such tests, he concluded that neither good luck nor bad luck can be produced by any charm or activity.

Second, luck is nothing more than spiritual plagiarism.

There are several Bible passages that tell us where our blessings come from. If you received something good; and say, “I was lucky,” you have said, in effect, that God had nothing to do with it. Yet, James 1:17 says every good and perfect gift comes from the hand of God and nowhere else. David wrote, “The steps of a good man are ordered of the Lord” (Ps. 37:23). Ever see those papers you can put on the floor to learn how to dance? Those papers tell you which foot to put where and at what time. This verse says the same thing. God directs our every step.

Third, luck is a denial of the sovereignty of God.

If you can do everything you desired to do and you do not have to answer to anyone else, you are sovereign. The title of sovereign only applies to God and nothing can occur outside of his authority (Romans 9:21cf). God formed us in the womb, and He gave some people good looks, long life, and intelligence; and He created others who weren’t given those specific gifts.

Some are born into privilege and others into abject poverty, and that is the sovereignty of Almighty God. But what do we call it when some are born with birth defects or genetic diseases? Is that incredibly bad luck or is it the work of a sovereign God?

Because our God is absolutely sovereign, He has the ability and the right to make each one of us anyway He wishes, and He made you for a particular purpose. The whole argument that Paul presented in Romans nine is the idea that the Potter has the absolute right to mold the clay anyway He wishes, and give it whatever value or form He wishes. Paul even said that God can make some vessels the objects of his wrath and others objects of his mercy. Some people hear that and scream “unfair.”

Praise the Lord He is not always fair. Does it not say that all who have sinned will die? If God was actually fair and exercised nothing but his justice, He could send us all to a Christless roasting eternity and be perfectly just and fair in doing it. It is not luck that makes a person a great singer making millions of dollars, and it is not luck that makes a street urchin wander through this world; it is the sovereignty of God.

Fourth, it is a loss of our testimony.

If something good happens to you and you attributed it to luck, think of the missed opportunity. You could have said, “That’s God blessing me.” Or, “God has shined his face upon me, let me tell you about my God.” Remember Joseph in the Old Testament in Egypt? He was sold into slavery. They told his father he had been killed by an animal. Years later, he would say “God meant it unto good” (Genesis 50:20). God saved many people alive because of the sale of Joseph into slavery; Joseph never said he was just lucky.

May we eradicate forever this word luck from our Christian vocabulary.

There is no Christianity and Luck!