It depends on how much I won. Maybe I wouldn’t win enough for a goose 😀. Anyway, gambling is generally discouraged in all Christian traditions and probably in other religions too. So, I’d feel a bit strange buying a lottery ticket.
A friend of mine, who’s an atheist, wouldn’t buy them either. He says that he doesn’t like the notion of paying money every week to be disappointed. But someone has to win I suppose.
I sometimes use lottery tickets as an example of one of the reasons that I believe in the existence of God. My faith isn’t really in the god created by philosophical arguments. It’s more direct than that. But I’ve often studied the various arguments. Some things happen by chance, but to get from nothing to the universe today by chance just seems too far-fetched. If someone won the lottery, you’d be surprised, but someone has to win. What if they won two weeks in a row? Well, perhaps it’s possible. But what if they kept winning every week? You’d suspect that there’s something other than chance behind it.
For many years, from around 2009, I used to listen to this guy, Justin Brierley, on the Unbelievable podcast. I still have all the early episodes downloaded. He used to chair debates between Christians and atheists, or people of other faiths – and sometimes debates among Christians. He covers the notion of chance in this short video.
Anyway, if I did win the lottery, I wouldn’t make any rash decisions. I watched a show years ago on BBC that followed up on lottery winners. None of them seemed much happier. Some ended up in greater difficulty. The only couple who seemed to end up happy were a couple who’d just had a new baby. It was the new baby that made them happy, not the money. Still, money could be useful if anything big went wrong with the house or car. And of course, we should use our money wisely and for the benefit of others. I wouldn’t want to be like the rich fool in that famous parable or one of those dodgy rich TV evangelists or megachurch leaders 😀.
Luke 12:20
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
Matthew 26:19-21
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Hibernia Gospel 
Didn’t Paul say to the Corinthians that only one wins the prize?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for your comment!
That’s right – he does. That’s an interesting passage (1 Corinthians 9:24-27) and a good illustration of the importance of examining the context of a statement. Paul is encouraging the Corinthians to have focus and self-discipline. So, just as an athlete wants to win and puts all their energy into that, whatever our goal is (in this case general holiness), we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be distracted. It’s interesting because Paul generally teaches that salvation is a gift and not something to be earned. Yet, getting the gift of salvation should energize us to run the great race. For example, if an angel told me that I would win gold in the next Olympics, I don’t imagine that I would sit around waiting for someone to send me my gold medal. I would go through everything that athletes go through knowing that I would be up there on the podium 😄. And knowing that we’re going to heaven should make us more heavenly minded.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much! Your blog put me in mind of Kierkegaard, the “leap of faith “ fellow. He refers a lot to that St Paul quote in The Crowd Is Untruth, yet I’m not sure I understood the significance of it.
LikeLiked by 1 person