I was speaking to a client last week – the vice president of a company that you likely interact with every day. She had recently decided to accept a position at a new company, and that change was working out brilliantly for her.
“I just thank God every day for my good fortune,” she said. “I know how lucky I’ve been all my life.”
I appreciated her willingness to acknowledge her privilege – something I don’t often see in this world – but her gratitude to God was interesting to me.
One of the problems with being a reluctant atheist – someone who would like to believe in a higher power but cannot – is that there is no one to thank for much of my good fortune.
When you don’t believe in God, your good fortune is just stupid luck.
I was born a white, straight male in the United States in the late twentieth century. That alone provides me with advantages that billions of people do not enjoy. In the grand scheme of things, these simple facts alone have made the greatest impact on my life.
Had I been born in many parts of the world, I would’ve likely faced considerable hardships:
Disease, hunger, an absence of fundamental human rights, economic limitations, political upheaval, lack of access to clean water and medical care, and millions of other factors would have hindered my success.
Had I been born a woman, I would’ve spent my life battling against sexism, wage discrimination, the constant threat of violence at the hands of men, and the lunacy of high heels.
Had I been born a minority, I would’ve undoubtedly faced prejudice, racism, and the threat of violence throughout much of my life.
Had I been a member of the LGBTQ community, I would’ve faced bigotry, the threat of violence, and a lack of fundamental freedoms throughout my life.
Had I been born before 1971, I might’ve faced combat in Vietnam, Korea, or the European or Pacific theaters during the World Wars, as my father, both grandfathers, and at least one great-grandfather did. I might’ve suffered through the Great Depression or the Civil War or been subjected to untold numbers of illnesses and diseases that have since been eradicated.
I was also born at the dawn of the internet and personal computing. I’m a member of the last generation of human beings who spent their entire childhoods without computers or the internet but entered adulthood during the emergence of both. As a result, I enjoyed an utterly offline childhood but an online adulthood.
Perfection, in my opinion.
I’m also healthy and intelligent. I don’t suffer from mental illness, physical disability, anxiety, or depression. I don’t require much sleep and have perfect blood pressure. Even my cholesterol is low.
I haven’t even mentioned my remarkable wife, my often perfect children, or my assortment of amazing friends. I’m already ahead of billions of people on this planet, and it was through no real effort of my own.
I certainly had my struggles in life. At various points, I was economically disadvantaged, hungry, and homeless. I was arrested, jailed, and tried for a crime I did not commit. I have been a victim of extreme violence.
It wasn’t always easy, but it would’ve been exponentially more difficult had I also been facing racism, sexism, or bigotry at the time. If I were also struggling with mental illness or a physical disability, my ability to survive and thrive would’ve been exceptionally more difficult. Had I lived in a country without the opportunities that America offers, I may never have recovered from my struggles.
I worked hard and remained relentlessly determined to succeed, but most was simply a geographic, genetic luck of the draw.
I feel incredibly fortunate, through no effort of my own, but unlike my client, I’m left with no one to thank for some of my greatest blessings.
Religion provides some people with the notion that God has placed them in this place, at this time, for a specific purpose. Fate and chance had nothing to do with their birthplace, their gender, their sexual orientation, the color of their skin, or the period in history in which they were born.
For the devout, God had a hand in all of these decisions.
They have someone to thank.
While I’m envious of the idea that life is not determined in significant part by stupid luck, I also find it inhumane and cruel to believe that an all-powerful deity has blessed one person with such great fortune ahead of billions of other human beings who are doomed to a life of poverty, subsistence living, and early death.
Why would a good and just God doom so many people to such hardship, pain, and suffering based solely on where they were born while blessing others with unfathomable good fortune?
“God works in mysterious ways” is often the explanation, but I find this to be a nonsense response, lacking logic or reason and dodging the essential question:
If God can prevent children from starving and suffering but chooses not to, what the hell is wrong with him?
If you are devout, I might also worry about what God would say if he were generous enough to place you in America during a time of relative peace and prosperity only to discover that you spend 28 hours a week watching television or scrolling TikTok.
If he’s the Old Testament version of God, watch out for the trapdoor you’re likely standing upon.
I would love to thank someone for being born where I was, when I was, and who I was, but in the end, I can only see it as dumb luck. I can only thank the roll of the dice for my good fortune, which doesn’t feel like thanks at all.
So, instead, I offer a sigh of relief that I was born so lucky, the daily acknowledgment of my unearned privilege, a relentless attempt to lift others less fortunate, and a constant effort to maintain humility in the face of my incredible good fortune.
