Month: October 2018

What would you do if you won the lottery?

What would you do if you won the lottery?


What would you do if you won the lottery? I haven’t thought about it much, and I’d probably need to buy a ticket before I have a chance (FYI – it’s only a 1 in 302,000,000 chance). Have you bought a ticket or ever thought about what you’d do if you won? Some of the first things that come to my mind are the basics like paying off debt like our mortgage and then doing the same for my extended family. Then I’d probably buy a new house for… each one of my parents and siblings. My wife would probably want me to do the same for her side of the family, too. And from there, I’d have to figure it out.

One thought provoking idea I did have was, what if they changed the rules to how you win the lottery. What if instead of picking random numbers, you had to submit a proposal on how you would use the money (1.6 Billion currently). Then they would select the proposal that was deemed the best use of all that prize money. But in order to verify that you would actually use it for that purpose they would also look at how you currently spend/use your money. The final winner would be chosen not only based on their proposed use of these millions of dollars, but also on how closely (and proportionally) the current use of their finances reflect and validate their proposed use.

I imagine that would be pretty challenging for us all. What percentage do we currently allocate to charity or missions? To needs related to helping our extended family? To those who are hungry or impoverished through-out the world? What about to our entertainment, hobbies, pastimes, or “toys”? Ouch! I’m pretty sure some of my answers to these questions even as a pastor would take me out of contention for winning this sort of purposeful (vs. random) lottery idea.

Well, it might not help our odds of winning the Mega Millions lottery this week, but in the verse above, Jesus promised that those who use well what they’ve been given (like our time, treasure, and talents) will be given even more (in this life and the life to come)! And conversely, those who don’t honor God with what they’ve been given, will have their portion taken away and given to others.

So whether you are buying a lottery ticket or not, take some time today to bring this somewhat convicting subject before the Lord in prayer. Let’s each ask God if there are any adjustments He might want us to make with what He has so graciously given us, and then let’s adjust accordingly!

Have a great week and bless on!