Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value, but righteousness delivers from death.
Proverbs 10:2
Many people dream of winning the lottery. In 2016, Americans spent over seventy billion dollars on lotteries alone. Total gambling losses in the United States are estimated at over one hundred forty billion dollars a year.
What does this say about the way that many of us view and pursue money?
Only two things can happen when you gamble, and both are bad. You will probably lose—in which case you have been a bad steward of the resources that God has given you. Gambling is addictive. Those who start out planning to lose only a small amount sometimes become compulsive gamblers and lead themselves to financial ruin. People who try to get out of a financial hole through gambling almost always find themselves in a deeper hole.
The other bad thing that can happen is that you could win—in which case you have acquired ill-gotten gains at the expense of other foolish and naive gamblers. The rare person who succeeds at gambling or wins the lottery hasn’t worked skillfully to produce a valuable product or service that others appreciate. Instead he has taken the money of others
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