Why God....when I've won the lottery?

No matter how you define, 'winning the lottery' I wonder how quickly God fades away once the prize is confirmed.  We are talking about when things are more than good, they are great! Why should I call on the name of the Lord?

You are going to pay off your mortgage.  Buy your mother a house.  (My mother doesn't need one but that is popular choice).  Buy yourself a bigger house.  Retire.  Give money to your kids. Buy a boat; a BMW; a new snowmobile.  Why would you need God?

Did you wonder if this (new money, great job, deal of a lifetime) was the great temptation that would finally push you beyond your faith zone? That a handful of dollars was all it would take to empty your faith of meaning?   In your previous life you thought of  yourself as generous and compassionate and far from greedy....and then all this wonderful stuff falls into your lap.  You don't 'turn evil' you simply make different choices; choices that, up until the Lottery Office called, weren't even possible.

Then a shadow appears.  You begin to avoid certain people because they expect a hand-out.  You fall out with certain relatives because they feel entitled to a 'gift.'  When you have coffee with your friends you are always expected to pick up the check and it gets a little old.  You are sure the church is looking at you like a hungry wolf looks at a lamb.  It seems everyone wants what is yours.

What happened to God?  You are willing to call yourself blessed but not even conscious that it takes someone to give a blessing....and who might that source of blessing be?  New York State?  What happened to your call to be the hands and feet of Jesus?

Generosity is a hallmark of a life of faith.  Love of God.  Love of neighbor.  Caring for the widow and the orphan.  Feeding the hungry.  Clothing the naked.  That wonderful prize that just fell into your lap is just another tool to faithfully life out the life of a follower of Jesus Christ.  Too much of anything often becomes the great temptation to turn away from the life of faith.

Need some biblical references to check this out?  Try the rich man and his barns (Luke12.13ff) , or the young man who seeks eternal life (Mark10.17), or that old camel trying to get through the eye of the needle (Matthew 19.23ff).  Not everyone gets it wrong; Joseph of Arimethea was a rich man who gave his tomb to Jesus for his resting place, although in 3 days Jesus didn't need it any longer.