On May 10, 2000, the lead news story on WBEZ (Chicago public radio) at 7:00 a.m. was: two winning tickets for the record $366 million lottery jackpot had been sold. On May 12 the top headline story on CNN.com was that Larry Ross of Michigan had won $181 million in the lottery—there he was in the picture, smiling and holding the check. That was the news; it wasn’t supposed to be a cute human interest feature, it was headline news.
I could huff and moan about irresponsible public officials who “tax” bad habits by running a lottery, or complain about short-sighted voters who think gambling will yield a net gain for state coffers, but I have a simpler point: you can tell what we value by the things considered newsworthy. Today’s lottery-mania speaks volumes about the vision, values and dreams of our neighbors (and ourselves?): nothing is more important—and more newsworthy—than the prospect of getting REALLY rich (even if the odds are eighty million to one).
Of course, knowing Jesus has a “payoff” of infinite, eternal joy. But that joy only comes to those who love Christ now, follow him now, confess their pride and greed to him now, and find true security in him now. “Lord, spare us from falling in love with riches. Help us always to see our wealth as your property to be used to advance your church and bless the poor. And help us to love our neighbors who love money so much—in the hope that they might find the true riches of your grace! Amen.”
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