Winning the Lottery

Written by Pastor Russell Lackey

What would you do if you won the lottery? All of us have ideas of things we would do for ourselves and for others if that happened. For ourselves, we would surely buy homes, trips, toys, etc. For others, we would be generous: buy a house for a loved one, do volunteer work, support the church, etc.

Author Kerry Robinson challenges us to change our thinking a bit. She suggests that since “winning the Lottery” implies a random, undeserved gift or good fortune awarded by chance, all of us have won the lottery in one way or another with health, friends, talents, or loving relationships? Maybe you won the lottery with intellectual or creative aptitude. Maybe you won the lottery with charisma, good looks, a sense of humor, or the ability to write well. Perhaps you won the lottery of physical safety, shelter, emotional security, or enough food. If we are honest, might it be better to wonder not if we have won the lottery, but how many lotteries have we won.

Here then is the real question: what are we actually doing with all that we have won? Do we persist in thinking we have too little? Do we share our abundance with others? Do we share our abundance? Do use the many talents and treasures that we have to live lives of joy?

As Christians, we have won the greatest lottery of all. We know that the God who made us continues t take care of us. We confess that Jesus lived and died so that we would be free. And we know that we have been given the Holy Spirit and the promise of eternal life.

Having won multiple lotteries, God sends us out to bless this world through vocation and volunteering, sharing talents and treasure, and loving our families, friends, and even our enemies. We do not have to be people who complain about scarcity because we have much. May we who have received God’s generosity, freely and abundantly share it with others.

With love,

Pastor Russ