Earlier this week, we spent three hours at the phone store. I know. I know. But we’d upgraded our phones and needed to exchange and transfer and activate, and well…it took time. During the process of trying to connect to our carrier, which was more difficult than it should have been, the associate that helped us (who was really nice, by the way), said “cross your fingers that this works.” Umm…What?
In my mind, I thought to pray it would work, but his comment caught me off guard. Wasn’t that something we used to say when we were children? Why do I hear adults using it now?
The next day, I had a doctor visit. The problem is with my right hand. I’ve had trigger finger going on since we moved in February. I had one lidocaine shot in April but needed another. Before the doctor went to give me the shot, she knocked on the wood of the table, apparently in hopes that the shot wouldn’t hurt me? Again, her actions caught me off guard.
Twice in one week, but I’ve heard it before, and honestly, this troubles me. Maybe I’m making a big deal out of nothing, but I decided a little research was in order, so I googled the topic. What I discovered was interesting.
I’ve read several sources and all of them mention the beginnings of these sayings for luck stem from a time when people thought spirits lived in the wood or believed in spirits in nature. So they would say such things or knock on the wood to keep the spirits happy or to keep them from harming them…or something. I’m not sure anyone knows for sure. Still. Have we returned to thinking that if we don’t say “knock on wood” or “fingers crossed” or “hope for the best” that somehow we will “jinx” our future outcomes?
Jinxing something also seems to have become a popular notion again these days. A woman who lives near me wondered if I’d jinxed my health because I got covid after saying I hadn’t caught it or even a cold for three years. So if I’d said, “knock on wood” after I stated that I’d been healthy for three years (well, minus cancer) that would have kept the virus away? If that’s true, no one should ever need fear covid again, right? Or maybe I wasn’t supposed to be grateful for good health for as long as it had lasted.
These sayings may seem like no big deal to us. Most of us probably hear them all of the time. Maybe we also say them. But what are we really saying? Do we really believe that by voicing our goals for the future and not prefacing them by adding a “fingers crossed” sort of comment that we’re going to have bad luck?
Isaiah had something to say to this type of thinking. In his day the people weren’t necessarily thinking about the spirits in the trees. They were just taking a block of wood and bowing down to it. But either way, spirits or idols, the New Testament says demons are behind them all. And innocent as it may be, when we fear that such comments as “I think I’ll do well on this exam,” or “I hope they accept our bid on that house,” or whatever it might be, will somehow not happen because we’ve tempted the universe to jinx our wishes, what are we really believing in?
To quote Isaiah 44:14-20:
He cut down cedars,
or perhaps took a cypress or oak.
He let it grow among the trees of the forest,
or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow.
It is used as fuel for burning;
some of it he takes and warms himself,
he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
But he also fashions a god and worships it;
he makes an idol and bows down to it.
Half of the wood he burns in the fire;
over it he prepares his meal,
he roasts his meat and eats his fill.
He also warms himself and says,
“Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.”
From the rest he makes a god, his idol;
he bows down to it and worships.
He prays to it and says,
“Save me! You are my god!”
They know nothing, they understand nothing;
their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see,
and their minds closed so they cannot understand.
No one stops to think,
no one has the knowledge or understanding to say,
“Half of it I used for fuel;
I even baked bread over its coals,
I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left?
Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”
Such a person feeds on ashes; a deluded heart misleads him;
he cannot save himself, or say,
“Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”
The universe is not a person, and the good luck phrases we say will not save us from some future misfortune. Knocking on wood is not going to make the pain less, and crossing our fingers isn’t going to make the phone work right. Common sense should tell us this.
A few of the sources I found claimed that Christians even connect these phrases to the cross, somehow making the crucifixion of Jesus into a charm?
Some might say that we use prayer in the same way. How is it any different to pray that the phone will work or that we won’t get sick or whatever else we might want or need? Well…sometimes we do use prayer as though it is a magic bullet against the things we fear. We do that when we are praying to control an outcome instead of praying to the One who controls the outcomes and made the universe.
There is a big difference.
I used to “worry pray.” I was a young wife and mom, and if I feared something, I prayed. I still pray about things I fear, but my perspective is not the same. Worry praying is trying to get God to do what you ask. I thought I could keep the people I loved safe if I just prayed hard enough. It didn’t take long for God to show me that I don’t control anything just because I ask. I can ask. But when I ask, I do so now with a heart that also says, “Your will be done.”
When we are using good luck phrases so we don’t tempt the fates or the demons or the bad luck in the universe, we are trying to control the outcomes. We fear things going wrong, but if we just say the right thing, we’ll be okay. We’ll pass the test. We’ll get the house. Or whatever else we think we need.
Idol worship in Isaiah’s day and idol worship or universe worship or self worship in our day is all the same. We want to be the masters of our ship, the blessed controllers of our fate. But if you live long enough, you’re going to find out that you never had control in the first place. The only thing we have a little control over is ourself. Our attitudes. Our choices.
But we can’t turn a single hair black or white (and coloring it doesn’t count). We can’t add a single hour to our lifespan. That’s why Jesus told us not to worry. He told us to tell God our needs and we’re to thank Him for His answers, but if we trust the God of the universe (not the universe itself), we can leave the worries, the fears of the future, the bad luck woes with Him.
Jesus told us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Some versions say from “the evil one.” I was really happy to be healthy for three years (well, no covid or colds or flu…not counting cancer). But still. I hate the flu and sinus illness, so for that I was very grateful. And I hope I don’t see any such illness again for a long time – or never. But to say so out loud is not why I was sick these past three weeks. I was sick because I came across the virus and my immune system was compromised. And we live in a fallen world. Things happen.
To quote The Chosen – “But in this world, bones will still break, hearts will still break, but in the end the light will overcome darkness.”
The light that overcomes the darkness isn’t good luck charms or phrases to ward off evil. The Light of the World that overcame the darkness is Jesus. Let’s not fall into the trap of thinking we can use these phrases to mean the crucifixion (because the cross was made of wood and crossing your fingers represents the cross?). It sounds a little too much like trying to make excuses for a belief that isn’t truth.
And that’s what it really comes down to. It’s not that I’m going to go off on someone the next time a doctor knocks on wood or a sales associate crosses his fingers. The point isn’t so much in what was even said or done. The point is why? Is this just an innocent cultural thing today? Or is it a belief system that’s been in place since the first humans wanted to control their world instead of letting God be God?
Something to think about~
~Selah
The Conversation
Thank you for your post. It was exactly what I needed to read right now.
Thank you, Cindy.
Great thoughts Jill! I agree. We need to pray, not cross our fingers. I like to put a plug in for God and prayer whenever someone says that to me. It can be a great opportunity to witness. I do pray daily for Gods protection in this fallen world in which we live. …and if bad things still happen (and they sometimes will) we can be assured that God will use it for good! Things I felt were unfortunate have had silver linings! We are learning more and more to trust the Lord who can speak to the wind and the sea, and they obey Him, and rest in His divine plan for us. Who better to Trust? He’s the only one who knows the End from the beginning! So, we praise Him for ALL things as they pass through His hands! ??
Great thoughts, Michol. Thanks for sharing them!
Thank you for so clearly explaining worry praying vs thy will praying.
Thank you for reading the post. I’m glad it helped.
You have expressed my feelings Exactly! (Once again!)