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Wednesday, March 9, 2011

'Good Luck'

I'm *always* uncomfortable saying to another, "Good luck!" about anything But, I say it, because that's the term we use in our culture.

As I recently wrote to an old friend: "Good luck (by which I don't mean "good luck" -- I'm not a pagan -- but rather "God be with you" or "Go with God") with the interview."
Posted by Ilíon at 3/09/2011 12:05:00 AM
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7 comments:

JSA said...

I'm pretty neurotic about stuff like that. I don't even like to say "God bless" or anything like that to another Christian, since it seems like taking the Lord's name in vain. Same reason I would never say "I'm praying for you". I think "God willing" is about as far as I feel comfortable going.

With non-Christians, I'll sometimes say "good luck", but there's usually an undercurrent of cynicism there. I should probably stop.

March 9, 2011 at 12:17 AM
Ilíon said...

I almost never say, "I'm praying for you" because:
1) it's far too easy to say, such that it's all-but-meaningless out of most people's mouths (including my own);
2) I know from experience that even if I make a conscious effort to "pray for" someone, the effort rarely lasts more than a few days.

March 9, 2011 at 1:00 AM
Ilíon said...

... so, I guess I'd say that "I'm praying for you" seems to me that it can too easily be a taking of God's name in vain, despite that God isn't even explicitly mentioned.

On the other hand, I wouldn't see "God bless" as being that, for I see that phrase as an expression of the hope that God watch over and guide the person.

March 9, 2011 at 1:04 AM
JSA said...

Yeah, it's mainly my own neurotic overthinking about "God bless". I'm always afraid it comes off as if I am acting like I am magnanimously handing out blessings from God. IOW, instead of "I hope God blesses you", I worry that it comes across as "Here, have a blessing from God to me to you".

But then again, I lean Calvinist, so I have to guard against tying myself up in fatalistic overanalysis.

March 9, 2011 at 1:49 AM
Foxfier said...

I tend to use "Hope it turns out well!"

I don't generally say "I'll pray for you" either, but that's more because I don't think that knowledge does any special good unless someone is hurting or they asked.

God Bless, on the other hand, is expressing a desire for him to do so.

March 9, 2011 at 1:24 PM
Dr. Michael Bauman said...

I'll often say that I'm praying for someone -- because I am, and that fact might be a comfort or an encouragement. If so, I won't withhold from them the fact of my prayer.

March 10, 2011 at 4:29 PM
Ilíon said...

Certainly!

However, what I was getting at it that it seems to me that most of the time when people say "I'm praying for you" what they mean is "I'll engage in vague wishful-thinking (to no one in particular) that your situation magically improves all on its own" -- in other words, a "Christian" version of a good-luck charm.

March 10, 2011 at 5:09 PM

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