Casting the Lot

For Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Proverbs 18:18

The lot puts an end to quarrels
and decides between powerful contenders.

It is interesting how the casting of lots or drawing straws or flipping coins settle matters that could produce controversy or are already controversial. Rival teams let a coin flip decide who gets the ball first; kids arguing over who has to take the worse job will meekly accept the result of drawing the shortest straw. There is an odd sense of fairness to committing a decision to chance. That is when there is no clear reason for choosing one side or person over the other. Or sometimes simply to avoid the ill will that choosing will cause.

There is some kind of resignation to a "higher" decision through committing decisions to "chance." All the more then, Christians ought to accept the seemingly random events that result in pleasant and unpleasant consequences. We are to accept our lots as coming from the Lord to be used for his purposes for his glory and our good. Scripture is not teaching us to cast lots to make our decisions, but it is teaching us to accept the consequences of all decisions, however random they may seem, as God working out his purposes.

Instead of wallowing in self-pity or anger over "bad luck," we should be exploring how God wants us to live for his glory. Instead of swelling with pride over our "good luck," we should be moved to humility and exploring how God wants us to live for his glory. What matters in life is not so much what lot we get, but what we do with whatever lot is ours. Whether we get heads or tails, the short straw or the long straw, what matters is what we do in the circumstance. And what we do will ultimately lie in our confidence in God's sovereignty and goodness. And our confidence will ultimately lie in how much we treasure Jesus Christ and the grace shown to us through him.