Here is a piece I wrote this week for the Atlanta Journal/Constitution and it will come out in Saturdays AJC. They give me a question weekly and I write about it. I hope you enjoy it! You can also read my articles on line every Saturday in the AJC - Gwinnett edition.
Do you believe that big lottery winnings can be a form of blessing from above?
An old song that was featured on the "Hee Haw" show many years ago went like this, "Gloom, despair and agony on me.
Deep dark depression, excessive misery.
If it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all.
Gloom, despair and agony on me. "
Some folks live broke, busted and disgusted all of their life because they depend on luck to get them through. I have always taught that there is really no such thing as luck - bad or good! I believe you are either blessed with a blessing or cursed with a curse.
Now, lets take the question and ask it a different way - Do you believe that big lottery winnings CAN be a form of a blessing? Sure I do. Money is not a bad thing but it can motivate you to do bad things! Anything that brings an increase to you could be considered a blessing by some. Money only magnifies who you are and what you are. In
1 Timothy 6:10 we read "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith..." Notice - it does not say Money is the root of all evil - but the LOVE of money. Most people that really love money - have very little of it. It is the love of money that causes someone to rob a bank or embezzle from an employer. Money really only makes you more of what you are! If you are greedy, stingy and mean and you win millions - then you will be a greedy, stingy and mean millionaire!
Here is my take on the lottery. I was standing in line to pay for my gas at a local convenient store and the line was very long and everyone was talking about what they would do with the money if they won the lottery. Someone asked me what I would do if I won and I replied - well, I did win! They were shocked as I continued to say - I win every single week! I could tell it was getting to much for some as they wanted to know my secret to winning the lottery every week. I simply said, I keep my dollar in my pocket every week!
Statistics have shown us that most people that win over 1 million dollars in games of chance - are worse off in 5 years than they were before they won and many wish they had never won the money. I really believe that the lottery is a tax on the poor. The poor play excessively in order to become rich and therefore pay the bulk of the lottery money which they cannot afford to do.
My advice - Keep your money in your pocket or give to a church or charity - that way - you win every time!
Bishop W. Wayne Pugh - Church Alive of Atlanta, Senior Pastor
www.ChurchAliveAtlanta.com
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