The lottery is most brashly known as a government scheme that essentially takes the money of the poor by making them believe that they actually have hope in winning a hundreds of millions of dollars. And while there are many political, economic, educational, and social aspects of the lottery that can be evaluated and debated, I just want to take the easier route by writing about how the lottery and money in general could be a good thing if used for the right reasons.
Indeed, if entering the lottery is not a financial sacrifice at all, and if the winner wants to do something with that money for the glory of God, then I couldn’t see how the lottery would ever be a bad thing–otherwise, it’d just be another, yearly opportunity to show God off to those around the world by making HIM look like the treasure we all desire, instead of money itself. Using money to leverage and advance the kingdom of God would be awesome. However, most of the time, thats the furtherest thing people think about when they enter the lottery–and this is because the lottery has always been known as a “quick way to get rich” scheme.
But the Bible says a lot about money. It says that “the love of money is the root of all evil” and “that godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Tim 6:10). Jesus also says, one cannot serve both God and Money. You will either love one and hate the other; you cannot serve two masters (Mt. 6:24). Nonetheless, this does not mean that money is inherently wrong. In fact, money is a blessing and it should be stewarded for the glory of God–something that God gives us to ENJOY, but also something that He gives us as a TOOL to extend ministry support in our communities, cities, states, countries, and all over the world. In fact, money is the lifeblood that financially runs, supports, and provides the ministry capacities and programs that the church will use to more effectively spread the gospel.
With money, there always involves the elements of love, trust, identity, goals, and spending. What you love, what you trust, where your identity is found, what goals you have, and how you will use your money should be God-centered and not self-purposed. Indeed, if we claim Christ, we have already denounced the world as our functional savior to fulfill all those things anyways. Yes, we have found much more value in his eternal, permanent work for sinners in love, securing for them something in heaven forever that money could never buy. Rather, we have Jesus, the most costly gift; thus, how we deal with money should be ultimately about Him and not us.
Money is by nature: temporary, subject to change, exhaustible, economically and politically-dependent, fleeting.
The Gospel is by nature: permanent, eternal, inexhaustible, value-increasing, not dependent on circumstances, already purchased, finished, never-changing.
Choose wisely. For you only have one life. And your life will be mastered by either one or the other.
