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An acquaintance looked at me with astonishment when I told him I was one of the biggest winners ever in the history of the Tennessee Lottery. He had this
“I-can’t-wait-to-tell-this-to-somebody” look on his face. Before he had the chance to pull out his cell phone, I quickly explained to him I had never bought a single Tennessee Lottery ticket so I was, in effect, one of the biggest winners. We shared a good laugh when he realized the point I was making. But for many, gambling in general and the lottery in particular is no laughing matter.
My good friend is one who is not laughing. His experiences with the lottery are so very different from mine. “Larry” has scratched hundreds, perhaps thousands of tickets looking for that winner. In fact, his car is covered with that messy scratch dust from lottery tickets. He keeps playing every combination of numbers imaginable looking for a big payday.
Sometimes when Larry is driving down the road he will look at the license plate on the car in front of him. He says the numbers seem to come alive, leaping off the license plate and into his mind. “7-9-1, 7-9-1, I have to play 7-9-1!” Sometimes hearing a telephone number triggers a run to the nearest store selling tickets. Other times he hears the scores reported Sports Center and is compelled to jump in his car and run to buy tickets based on numbers from the Steelers versus Chiefs or some other game.
Perhaps most disturbing is when scripture is read at church. Can you guess what happens when my friend hears someone say, “Today I will be reading from Colossians 1:28?” He has been known to leave church, right in the middle of his “worship” and go to a store to buy lottery tickets. Once, in a moment of honesty, he admitted there was really more “worship” going on in his heart when he was scratching lottery tickets than when he was drinking the cup. He may be right — the inspired apostle did write: “Don't be greedy for the good things of this life, for that is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5 b NLT). Worship. Idol worship.
The more I think about it, the more I really do feel like one of the biggest winners ever in the Tennessee Lottery. I don’t mean to have a holier-than-thou attitude. God knows in my heart I am fighting the works of the flesh just like everybody else. But I am really glad that I do not struggle with the same compulsion as my friend. And I sincerely hope and regularly pray that one day, he will overcome.
What are we worshipping?
— Bob Clark
2/22/2005
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