Many people play the lotteries. If they didn’t, the winning pot wouldn’t get into the hundreds of millions. And of course, that’s the draw. That’s when a lot of people start playing the lottery.
I’ve seen this over and over. You’ll see large groups of people do this. When the pot gets so large, there will be a group in an office, or workplace, getting into a pool together to buy lottery tickets. This I also find curious. They didn’t want to start playing until the numbers got into the 9-digit realm. So, what, like 80 million wasn’t enough. Anyway, that’s beside the point.
There are several reasons I don’t like state, or national, lotteries. But, mainly, I just don’t believe people have fully thought through the different scenarios. For one thing, they’re not going to win. At least, the odds are heavily against it. You have better odds of getting struck by lightning than winning big in the lottery. Much better, in fact. Here are some numbers. Odds of winning Mega Millions jackpot: 1 in 259 million. Odds of getting struck by lightning: 1 in 3 million. That should give you a little better perspective. So, a person is betting their future on very slim odds.
But let’s say, for the sake of argument, they do win. A group of 10 people win a 250 million jackpot. That’s 25 million each. Now, I know everyone’s answer if you ask them what they are going to do when they win. Number one answer: “Quit my job.” OK. But let’s take this further. You’re going to quit your job. Then what? “Well, I’ll just do whatever I want. I’ll travel the world. I’ll buy a big house and several fast cars.” OK, that’s fine. But do you suppose any of these people, giving these answers, and hoping to win the lottery jackpot, have thought about the value of having a sense of purpose? I mean, what is their mission in life? Is their goal just to have enough money so they don’t have to work anymore? Don’t misunderstand. That’s not a bad goal in itself. But isn’t there a bigger purpose behind their existence?
Let’s look at this another way. Do you suppose any of the ones hoping to win big have seen the number of lives that have been ruined by winning the lottery? No, of course not. The lottery commission doesn’t advertise that, do they? Why does it ruin their lives, you ask? Well, quite simply, they’ve never had to manage that much money before. Also, they didn’t have to earn it. So, they didn’t learn the value of it. You see, even successful billionaires who have built up huge companies don’t do it for the money anymore. They have a vision and a purpose behind what they do. If they woke up just for the pursuit of money, they would probably have a hard time getting out of bed. The money is secondary to them.
But there’s something even bigger. The reason it ruins people’s lives is because they falsely believe that it will solve all their problems. Then once they have it, they realize that it doesn’t. You see, money doesn’t solve all your relationship problems. Money doesn’t solve your emotional problems. Money doesn’t solve your personal problems. Most of the problems you had before you won, you will still have after you’ve won. All money does is make life a little easier, in some ways. But money can’t give you a sense of meaning and purpose. Money can’t give you a sense of fulfillment.
Having a sense of purpose and fulfillment in life is important. But when we look to this world for fulfillment we will always end up disappointed. One of the things the Bible makes clear is that having God in our lives gives us a sense of fulfillment and purpose.
AV Ecclesiastes 5:10: “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this [is] also vanity.” Though money serves a purpose in life, satisfaction and fulfillment isn’t one of them. Money is not meant to be a pursuit in itself. I believe when a person pursues what they are passionate about, the money will come. To varying degrees of course. But I believe when the money is the pursuit itself, then disappointment follows. And some fulfillment can come from pursuing your passion. But even that’s not enough.
AV Matthew 6:33: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” When we seek the things we are bound for disappointment. But seeking the creator of all things is where our true fulfillment comes. Not only that, but God promises to take care of all these other earthly things when we seek him first. Seeking Him and a His righteousness brings about what our soul truly longs for.
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AV Isaiah 58:11: “And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.” Looking to the source is where we need to be looking. We can not only be tapped into the source, but maintain true abundance even when times aren’t very good. We can be fully provided for and have enough to even help some other people.
AV John 10:10: “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly.” God’s desire for us is to give us an abundant life. That begins with Him and allowing Him to breathe new life into us through accepting Jesus and the sacrifice of His death on the Cross. The enemy comes for the exact opposite reason. And many times he tries to distract us with things that seem good, but end in destruction. The things of this world can be very distracting. They don’t provide, however, the abundant life God wishes to provide us.
AV Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” God has a purpose in mind for all of us. There’s an end game He has in mind. We need to be open to it, though. We need to broaden our thinking and get in line with Him and His purposes for us. It doesn’t just happen and it will take some effort from us. But we can have a peace and fulfillment in Him that passes all understanding. And that’s more than any lottery could ever provide.
AV Ecclesiastes 5:10: “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this [is] also vanity.”
AV Matthew 6:33: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
AV Isaiah 58:11: “And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.”
AV John 10:10: “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly.”
AV Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”