It is a commentary on our society when the jackpot or the winners for government sponsored gambling becomes the banner headline news. Is there nothing more important, more transformational, more threatening, or more informative going on today that should be the banner headlines? I consider it an insult that news media seem to think I find who won to be the most newsworthy information today.
It’s what sells, not what’s important that we see
First, it is a commentary on what runs the news media. We are not fed what is important or what is significant, but rather what people will click or buy –that is, what will sell ads. So news executives are not promoted primarily because they serve society well but because they pander to the whims of the slice of society who click on (buy) news. I contend that when we decide to make mega-million jackpots the banner headline, we should consider the detrimental effect of promoting the economic parasite of gambling. Could we not just as legitimately have headlined that this week state governments succeeded in raising a windfall tax mostly from people who could not afford it? Oh, I forgot, that wouldn’t sell papers.
We are in denial of the improbability of winning
Second, there is the improbability angle. It’s a commentary on our knowledge of math, I guess. Your chances of winning, according to a Fox news article, are one in 176 million. You are about eight times more likely to be canonized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church than to win the lottery just completed. Your chances of picking out a four leaf clover on the first try are one in 10,000. So, from a probability angle, you are much smarter to keep your money. Smart people invest their money more wisely. They know, in gambling, the house always wins in the long run, not them.
We have forgotten that gambling is vice
Third, it’s a commentary on our moral degeneration. That which a few decades ago was relegated to society’s margins as seedy and undesirable is now trumpeted as front page news. As a society, we are no longer readers and heeders of the Proverbs which warn, “An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning will not be blessed at the end” (Pr 20:21 NIV ). Nor do we take warning from the Apostle Paul who wrote, “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Ti 6:9-10 NIV ). So law abiding upright citizens stand idly by while the wealth of other people is siphoned off by publicly sponsored gambling, because we are told it saves us taxes. Hmmm… Perhaps the voice of conscience has been muffled by the use of gambling in various forms to raise money for all sorts of charitable causes, including churches. (This is another reason I and we as Wesleyan oppose this latter practice as well.)
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Mega Millions
The great interest in the latest Mega Millions jackpot is only a tip of the iceberg for a major problem within our society. The largest problem is the desire of the citizens to have rewards given that are not deserved or earned.
Consider the form of reward that is most often sought. I would think that your response would be money. Las Vegas and Turning Stone is built on the misfortune of people that were seeking the quick return on their folly. It should be admitted that the “bookies” are in business to make money on the backs of people that are going against the odds.
There isn’t too much news anymore about bookies. When I stop to think about it, the bookies have been pretty much replaced by government. Guess what has replaced them? I believe it to be our State and Federal governments.
When checking out of most any convenience store, the display of the various lottery games is mind boggling. Invest a dollar or two and the reward can be quite a multiple of the money spent. Have you ever watched someone buy cards, and then win a small amount? What is the next thing that the person does – that’s correct, they purchase a couple more cards because the temptation that the really big prize must be in the next card.
In New York State, the Governor is proposing the State allow casino building to generate additional income for the State coffers. Do you really think that our taxes will be reduced in the same rate that income from the casinos will be realized? I do not think there will be any reduction in taxes. The governments will continue to increase the budgets which will make the citizens even more dependent on them. Do you recall that the NYS Lottery was put in place to generate funds for the schools and to lower the budgeted amount to be raised by local taxes?
Then we come to the topic of Social Justice. Another name for Social Justice is the redistribution of money from one group of citizens to another group. At least when buying lottery tickets, money has to be paid to get a chance for the big prize. The Social Justice, or entitlement program, doesn’t require that the receiving group has to put any effort or funds into the system, only be on the receiving end.
Quite often the biblical reference (Luke 10:27-37) is given regarding the parable of the Good Samaritan and it is argued that it is the responsibility of government to take care of the individual. I have been aware of this parable since I was a child in Sunday school. I have read it many times since then and I have yet to be able to read between the lines and find that it suggests that redistribution of money is the solution to helping the injured man recover from his wounds or replace his clothing. It can easily be pointed out that as Christians; we are responsible for the caring of the needy and less fortunate. Matthew 25: 31-40 tells us the manner in which we are to care for the less fortunate. The verses that immediately follow these verses also state that those that did not help the needy will likewise be judged and sent on their way.
It is the responsibility of individuals to care for our neighbors. The Social Justice of governments will only make slaves of the recipients because they will continue to need support. Once started, there is not an end to the hands that are outstretched to receive. The manner in which we support our neighbors in need is illustrated in Matthew 6: 1-4. We know with assurance that the Father will be aware of our actions and we will be rewarded.
The question – How can the purchasers of tickets to get the big prize be convinced that their money would be much better put to use by giving to charities that are dedicated in the Christian spirit of helping the less fortunate. There isn’t an easy answer but a start would be to convince them that their thinking is misguided and they would be better served to become acquainted with the rewards presented to Christians in the scriptures.
This is one of the reasons I am attracted to this group of believers at Kirkville Wesleyan Community Church. The outreach programs of this congregation are scriptural. Our tithes and offerings are extensions of our core beliefs that we, as individuals, are responsible for the care of our neighbors. Would we dare try to calculate the amount of money that was spent to purchase the Mega Million tickets? Think of the good things that could have been done with that amount of money if given through Christian programs! That is, real Good Samaritan based programs.
I have often suggested to people that were planning to go to the races or a casino that they make a deal with me. Here’s the deal, Give me the money you plan on giving over the counter to a clerk and I will give you back half the money. We will both be winners. No one ever took me up on the offer. I guess they always thought there was going to be a big “handout” at the end of the evening.