Does winning the lottery make life better? Turns out, it does.
Most people believe that lottery wins are destructive:
- Media reports of ruined lottery winners – negativity sells more newspapers.
- An invented statistic that 70% of winners go bankrupt.
- Envy: cushions the blow for the rest of us, who haven’t won the lottery.
“Blessed” Μακάριοι makarios: happy, blessed, to be envied.
Often we say, “I’m blessed” when really we mean:
- I am happy [in this moment]
- I’ve been lucky, or fortunate
- I am privileged, prosperous
These are descriptive of external circumstances. They’re OK, but really it’s a state of being, not a state of emotion or natural prosperity.
Reframing what we mean by “blessing”
It’s easy to see external circumstances as “blessing”, but what about the path that leads there: is that a “blessing”, too?
Hard decisions, easy life. Difficulties, the path to blessings, are blessings in themselves, because of where they lead, without which we cannot be blessed.
Why? Because we’re stubborn creatures, unwilling to do the work, we want it laid out on a platter.
Notice the guy at the bottom – is there any reason why he WON’T reach the top? No, it’s just hard work.
“The third essential of the love of God, … is to render others blessed from Himself …” (Heavenly Secrets, 2434)
The Lord seeks to bless us! To make our life enviable! When we think of “blessing”, we often imagine the end result, but forget the path that leads there.
“In the Word, in the external sense, ‘blessing’ means being enriched with all earthly and bodily good. … But in the internal sense ‘blessing’ means being enriched with all spiritual and celestial good, a blessing which neither does nor can possibly exist unless it comes from the Lord. …” (Heavenly Secrets, 981)
Why doesn’t the Lord “bless” us externally? The real blessing is so much more than we imagine. There are intangible benefits to be found on the path:
“For some people, work provides a sense of purpose and identity. Quitting your job could lead to feelings of isolation, boredom, and depression.” (https://moneymarshmallow.com/why-do-lottery-winners-go-broke/)
“… the Lord provides the good, who accept His mercy during their time in the world, with such things as contribute to the happiness of their eternal life. He confers wealth and important positions on those to whom they can do no harm, and withholds wealth and important positions from those to whom they can do harm. To the latter nevertheless, during their time in the world, He imparts the ability to be glad with a few things instead of important positions and wealth, and to be more content than those who have wealth and important positions.” (Heavenly Secrets, 8717, section 3)
Recorded on Sunday 4 February 2024