The Lottery Ticket

Deuteronomy 8:2, “You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.”

I don’t play the Lottery very often, but if I happen to have an extra $1.00 on me and someone else is buying a ticket in front of me…  I might on occasion buy one. What I love about buying a Lottery ticket is thinking about what I would do with the money, which always ends up being a close examination of my heart and lengthy discussion with God.

For example, one thing that I would like to do if I were to win the lottery is to set up endowments for some minister’s I know so that they would never have to worry about money or a salary. This sounds very noble and good, but as I look at my heart in conversation with God I see that this could entirely be outside His plan. My friend Jim for example recently found himself in need of $20,000 for medical bills. If I won the lottery Jim would never have to worry about money ever again. He would not need to have faith; those who God calls to give would not have to struggle with parting with their cash. I could completely interfere with God working all things together for good for those who love Him because in a small way I could be God. If even motivated out of godly compassion.

And so these thoughts have me question God about compassion at all. Where is the line between doing good out of compassion for others, and playing God in someone else’s life?  Is it even something that we should worry about?

I think of the man at the pool of Bethesda who had no one to take him to the water when the angel stirred it. Surely there were other sick and lame there, otherwise there would have been no competition for the healing. But why did Jesus not heal anyone else? Was there only one deserving of compassion?

How do we know if our gifts or compassion, our attempts to alleviate suffering in someone else’s life is a blessing from God, or our attempt to remove Christ’ cross from them? Do we become a Peter forbidding Christ from going to the cross?

All of which says nothing about how the lottery would change my life in a dramatic way. Today I work out of necessity, but I meet that necessity at a place of God’s choosing. If I won the Lottery there would be no necessity, and can say confidently I would not work here once the check cleared. Would I miss something God has for me?

And once again, a one dollar slip of paper with some random numbers on it and my heart has been tested and found lacking. Though the wilderness humbles and test, though it is filled with an abiding presence of God, there is still something very much a part of me that wants to leave it far behind. If I won the Lottery I would be about alleviating the suffering of the wilderness, not only that of others, but particularly that of me.

And so I thank God that I was not the winner of $49,700,000. Reality is that He has been here with me, leading me, supplying my need, and one day I hope that I rest in remembering all the ways He has done that, and understand it is an infinitely higher for of love than any amount of money.

So I encourage you to go and buy a Lottery ticket and dream about what you would do with the money. Then take a look into your heart as you compare your dreams with God’s. You might be surprised what you see.