Powerball Mania

As of yesterday, the Powerball jackpot had reached $550,000,000.  And today's news indicates that winning tickets have been sold in Arizona and Kansas City.

Playing the lottery is actually a huge gamble.  Now I know you can buy a Powerball ticket for a mere $2.  It's not that spending $2 is a “huge” deal.  What’s enormous is the risk that, if you did win, your life would unravel in chaos and isolation and disaster. 

Just consider some of the big winners of recent years.  Of course, there are stories of careful millionaires who've invested their winnings wisely and kept their heads on straight.  But there’s also a lot of sorrow and human wreckage strewn along Lottery Lane.

• In 2006 Sandra Hayes split a $224,000,000 Powerball jackpot with a dozen co-workers.  She later said, “I had to endure the greed and the need that people have, trying to get you to release your money to them.  That caused a lot of emotional pain.  These are people who you’ve loved deep down, and they’re turning into vampires and trying to suck the life out of me.” (source)
• In 2002 Jack Whittaker of West Virginia hit the Powerball jackpot:  $315,000,000.  But later, as a devastated man, he lamented how his windfall was to blame for his granddaughter’s fatal drug overdose, his divorce, hundreds of lawsuits, and an absence of true friends. (source)
• In 2009 James Groves of New York City won a 50% share of the Mega Millions $336,000,000 jackpot.  But promptly thereafter he was flooded with calls from friends and acquaintances wanting money.  “It’s a dream turned into a nightmare.” (source)

I could go on with stories of lottery winners’ lives ruined by bankruptcy, cocaine, pros­ti­tution, violence, and suicide.  But I’ll spare you.  My point is simply this:  Americans were lining up to buy 6.3 million tickets per hour yesterday (source) because they yearn for joy—for pleasure, for true happiness.  In fact, the human heart is spring loaded to seek happiness—God made us that way.  We've been designed to crave maximum delight in the all-satisfying presence of the Lord, here and now by foretaste, and one day with unspeakable joy in eternal presence of Christ!  But in this world we also lust after idols—after what’s created rather than the Creator, delights that don’t last, rewards that can never really satisfy our deep longings. 

John ends his first letter this way:  “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”  So guard your heart:  don’t let yourself run after this world’s fleeting pleasures, but pursue the glorious joy of Christ with all your strength.  How foolish and sad it would be set your heart on a passing payoff.  Frankly, today’s jackpot—whether we speak of money or status or power or fame (etc.)—isn’t worth a thing compared to “Jesus priceless treasure.”  The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up.  Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field (Matthew 13:46).
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