"Who is it in the press that calls on me?
I hear a tongue shriller than all the music
Cry "Caesar!" Speak, Caesar is turn'd to hear.
Soothsayer:
Beware the ides of March.
Caesar:
What man is that?
Brutus:
A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March."
Julius Caesar Act 1, scene 2, 15–19
On this date in 44 AD Julius Caesar was assassinated by several members of the Roman Senate, including his best friend, Brutus.
Since that day, March 15, the Ides of March, has been associated with bad luck. I don't believe in bad or good luck, although I seem to have had, in past years, more bad luck than my share. Just about everybody would say the same.
I don't remember any particular "bad luck" days on the Ides of March in my own history, except for once, when I was fired from a job. It wasn't a very good job. That was so long ago, it could well have happened on the Ides of March, 44 AD. At least it seems that long ago to me.
I don't expect any more "bad luck" than I've already had this week. Tuesday I had a painful encounter with gravity when a ladder I was perched on suddenly fell out from under me. I fell approximately 8 feet and landed flat on my back. I've been in substantial pain since, but it's getting better. The doctor said I tore a ligament that had previously been attached to my pelvis. Something about a sacroiliac or something.
So, I'm going to work, anyway.
Good luck today.
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10 comments:
I believe luck, good or bad, is a result of actions and choices, or the lack thereof, made by each of us every day. That eight foot drop wasn't so much a matter of bad luck, but, if you'll forgive me, bad planning. Apparently you didn't secure the ladder's footing. Or perhaps you leaned beyond a safe distance, thus creating an unsafe balance. Successful people never speak in terms of luck, even when it seems luck is against them. They simply press on, taking whatever the "bad luck" situation provided in terms of lessons for future action. In addition, I don't believe that belief in "luck" is something in which a good Christian believes.
Although I DO enjoy saying, "Drat the luck!" on occasion.
I hate it when those darned ladders jump out from under you. I dumped a full gallon of paint on the lawn one time leaping off a falling ladder and left it there to commemorate the event. The stain stayed there for about seven years.
By the way, Luck and Ladders has NOTHING whatsoever to do with Christianity, nor does "Christians" calling other Christians good or bad just because something is innocently said that they don't agree with...Shame!!
Hope you heal quickly Mark.
Take it easy there, Trader Rick. Merely expressing my opinion on the subject of luck, not attacking anyone for the use of a common expression.
That said, I can't speak for ladders, but luck, or the belief in luck, is akin to believing in witchcraft and fortune-telling, each of which is frowned upon Biblically. We are not to appeal to luck, but to the Almighty. Thus, I would label one who is aware of and abides by this piece of Biblical teaching is a "better", if not a "good" Christian when compared to one who does not. I'll stand by this statement.
How does marshall art deny calling Mark a bad Christian and then call him a bad Christian, all in the same paragraph, square itself with any sort of sanity?
Take it easy yourself, boy. It is just this sort of intolerant hate that makes this world a little sadder place to live in.
In my church there are a number of people that think themselves better Christians than others. Maybe they are. I don't know. But it doesn't seem the Christian thing to do. I don't think Jesus would tolerate it.
I don't know Mark, but from reading this blog, I think his heart is in the right place.
Now you're calling Mark a "witch"?
Any other witches around we need to be worried about?
You need to examine your words and apologize, brother.
Hope you heal quickly, marshall.
Shoor an ain't ya had a wee bit too much of the black an tan, there laddie. I doon't knoo fa shoor, but I doona think Mark's mooch a believer in the luck, e'en the luck o the Irish, tho I could be wrong.
I've little to fear from Mark taking my words the wrong way as you have, Trader Rick me lad. Too merely comment on the subject of luck does not mean one believes in it. So I put the question to Mark: do you believe in luck, or do you, like me, put it in the same class as witchcraft and fortune telling from the POV of a
Christian. Is there any Biblical support for the belief and reliance upon luck? I don't believe there is.
As far as apologizing, I'll leave that up to Mark as well as to whether or not he feels I need to. And as for holding fellow Christians accountable, that hardly signifies that I might feel I'm a better Christian than another. It only means that I see something questionable for which further clarification is desired. But just so's ya know what I'm made of, I don't feel offense at your compulsion to hold ME accountable and for that I thank you. I'll be just as appreciative should you accuse me of something I actually did.
Marshall, denial is beneath you. Everyone can read what you wrote.
If that's the way you debate,
GOOD LUCK with that!!
Sure, everyone can read what I wrote. They are also welcome to agree or disagree with your assessment. Keep in mind that most of Mark's comments regarding his "luck" had the quotations around the word. Thus, I feel confident he wasn't speaking from a position of belief in luck, only that the Ides have been associated with bad luck. In fact, he said, "I don't believe in bad or good luck, although I seem to have had, in past years, more bad luck than my share." From this I believe that this "good Christian" feels as I do regarding the notion of luck and I boldly deny that I have anything for which I need apologize.
Everyone of us uses the expression "good luck" or "oh, that's bad luck" or variations thereof, but it doesn't mean they believe in luck per se. I think Mark was clear in that. So, just why do I need to apologize? If I offended Mark, he can tell me, and I hope he would. He's emailed me in the past, or he can do it out in the open here or at my blog.
So that's the way I debate. I restate what I'd said and I stand by it until a good argument can be leveled against me. You haven't done that yet. I don't think you can. I'm open to any attempts. Good luck with THAT!
Ok, That's enough. I am not offended by Art's remarks. I don't believe in good or bad luck, although it would seem there's something to it sometimes when life doesn't make much sense. I know Who's in charge.
And as much as I hate to admit it, I am not what I consider a "good Christian". I suppose I never will be in this life.
Thanks alot, Rick. Now you got us in trouble.
Not a "good" Christian? How about, "someone trying to BE a 'good' Christian doesn't believe in luck"?
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