Every Hand’s a Winner, Every Hand’s a Loser

Ecclesiastes 9:11

I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.

If you’ve never been offended by this verse, you probably haven’t stared at it long enough.

The runner trains to win;

The warrior trains to win;

The crafty hoards wisdom to get ahead of others;

We look at the brilliant or favored by society and do not wonder why they are also wealthy…

We are less fond of time and chance.

As I’ve watched horse racing lately, I can imagine the deep disappointment that unseats the jockey and owner when a horse rears and trips at the starting line. After all of that training, not only did the horse not win the race: the horse couldn’t even compete!

Time and chance.

In the Bible story, the Philistine giant, Goliath, made no small boast about his strength and surety in battle. He was “the best of the best of the best, Sir!”. He was ultimately defeated by a shepherd boy with a sling and five smooth stones. Ouch.

Time and chance (and, no doubt, sovereignty).

Jesus told a parable about a man who built a large storehouse for all the harvest he had gained. He was proud and ready to sit back on his laurels, but he died that night. How many have harbored grand dreams of retirement, only to end up prematurely in a nursing home?

Time and chance.

There are some who are brilliant and favored by biology, we might say, whose names we will never hear or see in lights - many who work their entire lives in a craft but never seem able to accumulate wealth. And in many cases this too is due to —

Time and chance.

It’s offensive. We want what we’ve earned. We want what we’ve worked for. We feel entitled to it - especially if we’ve trained for it! To turn it around, think of how many people get offended when it seems that someone in their sphere did not earn their wealth, fame, promotion, or ‘win’! I can think of a few apt cultural examples - namely, some crass and low-brow social media influencers - but I would digress. Does it tan my hide? Yes. Is it annoying? Yes.

Why? Because they’ve worked hard at little (but lighting and a physique, or they just happened to say something stupid that resonated with lesser populations). Sorry, I told you I’d digress there. Meanwhile, my backend expands and my arms jiggle a little more than I’d like for an (honest) paycheck. You know what I mean? Sure, I get paid a modestly fair wage for my work. But I would hardly say the same about those above defined: They seem to get paid (in attention or wealth) for nothing but vice and vanity - the time and chance of our present culture. It’s a hard verse when you really think about it from all sides.

We don’t like time and chance.

Not really.

We like surety and earnings and fairness.

Gambling is a Full-Time Job

I love “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers. It was wildly popular for a minute, though I’ve found it more difficult to circle companions from the 1900s who feel as I do about it. It seems that too many take the song at face-value or think it’s just about a card game, but I love the metaphor for life taunting us and especially overt in verse four. Here's a recap of the chorus and that verse, if you don’t know it:

[Chorus]
You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away and know when to run
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealing's done

[Verse 4]
Every gambler knows that the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' what to throw away and knowing what to keep
'Cause every hand's a winner and every hand's a loser
And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep

Admittedly, the stated purpose here is “surviving’” - and most of us would like to do a bit better than that in life. Still, while unspecific - the song, like the Bible, won’t tell you what car to buy or what job to take - the principles contained within the lyrics contain elements of truth regarding basic human relations in life.

Know when to hold your lines;

Know when to fold (let go).

Know when to walk away (from people, places, things);

Know when to run!

What does money represent? It is value and worth. You should not count your value and worth while you’re sitting at the table of life: You will be distracted and you may be wrong (puffed up). You will have to wait until “the dealing’s done”, at the Judgement, to find out your true value here.

Know what to throw away;

Know what to keep.

That applies to physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual stuff.

But by far my favorite lyric is the “every hand’s a winner and every hand’s a loser” because that’s the truth. You can take what you were dealt and win; you can take what you were dealt and lose. Background, generational hang-ups, other people’s sins (against you), environment, wealth, experiences, talents, motivation, fortitude, your own sins, compassion, despair, trauma — I’ve seen those who shouldn’t have survived, thrived, and exceeded ‘win’ with epic grace, and I’ve seen those with far less excuse in life shrivel into all manner of vice, chaos, and crippling fear and spend, hold, waste, and ‘lose’ for what appears to be little reason. Backstory is of no guarantee here, as breeding is no guarantee amongst race horses: time and chance.

Every hand (life) has the potential to win; every hand (life) has the potential to lose.

An Ace that You Can Keep

Proverbs 16:9 — A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.

Romans 9:16 — So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.

What if you don’t know when to hold, fold, throw, or run? What if you’re looking around (trying to assess your worth) and realizing you might be the ‘loser’ in the tale? How do we balance the ‘time and chance’ in life with wisdom, knowledge, and grand pursuit? What’s the point of effort if losers sometimes win and winners sometimes lose?

Certainly, there is a measure of comfort to be found in trusting in the Lord, because as the Old Testament and New Testament aces above point out, the course of our lives is not entirely dependent upon us. As followers of Christ, we also submit to and recognize God’s sovereignty — which is not the same thing as time and chance.

Another hard passage on the topic:

Matthew 5:45

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even tax collectors do the same?

Winners and losers, righteous and. unrighteous, good and evil — they all get some rain and sunshine because God is good. In theological terms we call this “general grace” (sunshine) and time and chance (rain). It falls on us all.

Still, God requires action. “Love your enemies and pray” is not a passive stance: It requires much of us at the heart level. I struggle here. Show me an Instagram whore, and I’ll show you my struggle with loving my enemies. I’d rather spit on their graves and the graves of the men who entertain such ilk.

(I grew up in church, remember? I have grown weary of whitewashed saints who say one thing but harbor other thoughts in their hearts. I’m not saying my struggle is right; I’m only saying it’s honest.)

Still, Jesus’ words press upon me. Loving my enemies is hard. But even the world loves those who love them, right? Ugh. Something I need to throw away but find myself still holding onto… I share this only to emphasize that I also must rely upon God’s mercy because I have some hang-ups too.

Know what to throw away. Let God show you what to throw away. And know what to keep.

If you don’t know, start by reading God’s 66-book diary (the Bible). “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet…” the Psalmist says.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.

Recently, I have realized just how frequently I rely on my own understanding… that too has been a painful throw-away. But I can tell you this, trusting in God — rather than horses, men, or your own craftiness — is a far better ‘gamble’ than trying to run this race in your own strength.

May God give grace to the hearer — and may we become doers!

Psalm 20:7

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.