Playing the Lotto

At a convenience store a woman monopolized a counter as she scratched lotto tickets and purchased more. I had to awkwardly move around her to purchase my items. She didn’t move from her task. She was so focused on it that nothing else mattered.

Hope is a great thing. Hope helps us get through tough situations. Hope keeps dreams alive, the belief that we will prevail in the end.

Sometimes, however, hope in certain directions can be addictive. People can gamble for hours, even lose track of time. Some take over convenience store counters with the hope that their life will be better.

I’ve thought a lot about money lately. There is this belief that God is shining His favor on us if we have money. I don’t believe it. God is there whether we are rich or poor and He is providing His grace regardless of our financial situation.

We want to make ourselves better and we believe that if we have money, our life will be better. It may or may not. Money is nice to have, but there is a lot of life that can’t be bought with money, like a happy home or contentment.

I think what we need is perspective. It was said that the love of money is the root of evil. There is a prayer that states, “Lord, don’t make me so rich that I forget you, or so poor that I curse you. We might add, “or so narrow focused that in our hope for bettering ourselves we lose sight of not only You, but those around us.”