The ‘curse’ of winning the lottery?
Many people want to win the lottery. Even those who rarely get involved tend to get lottery fever when the jackpot gets high enough.
In the past several months, various US states have encouraged people to get vaccinated by entering the names of the vaccinated into a lottery.
They hope this will motivate more to be vaccinated.
But is it always a good thing to actually win the lottery?
Notice something from the past about the ‘success’ of the ‘winners’:
The ‘curse’ of winning the lottery?
February 6, 2018
Be careful what you wish for.
The New Hampshire woman who won the $559.7 million Powerball jackpot last month is refusing to claim her prize until she’s assured anonymity. And she may have a compelling reason to seek the guarantee.
It turns out winning a jackpot of millions or even thousands of dollars can lead to financial ruin — or even death. Several recent lottery winners have turned up dead in communities across the country. …
Sometimes hitting the jackpot simply brings “more problems,” as rapper Notorious B.I.G. put it. …
“Of the thousands of lottery winners I knew, a few were happy and a few lived happily ever after,” Edward Ugel, author of Money for Nothing: One Man’s Journey Through the Dark Side of Lottery Millions, told the Daily Beast. “But you would be blown away to see how many winners wish they’d never won.” http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/02/06/curse-winning-lottery.html
January 12, 2016If you win the $1.5 billion Powerball jackpot, you may not be as lucky as you may think. Many winners befall the so-called curse of the lottery, with some squandering their fortunes and others meeting tragic ends.
“So many of them wind up unhappy or wind up broke. People have had terrible things happen,” said Don McNay, 56, a financial consultant to lottery winners and the author of Life Lessons from the Lottery. “People commit suicide. People run though their money. Easy comes, easy goes. They go through divorce or people die.”
“It’s just upheaval that they’re not ready for,” McNay told TIME on Tuesday. “It’s the curse of the lottery because it made their lives worse instead of improving them.”
About 70 percent of people who suddenly receive a windfall of cash will lose it within a few years, according to the National Endowment for Financial Education. http://time.com/4176128/powerball-jackpot-lottery-winners/.
So, even those who ‘win’ still lose.
Notice also:
5 reasons you don’t really want to win the lottery
December 29, 2017
No one wants to discourage you from winning, but here’s a reality check: Loot can bring some ugly into your life, so you had better be ready for it. These are the ways megabucks can megabackfire.
1. Your friends will take advantage.
Once word gets out that you have the winning ticket, you can expect everyone to try to cozy up to you, …
2. Your relationship could fail.
Money woes can strain a relationship. But those who come into big windfalls find coming into a lot of money can also overtax a relationship. …
3. You’ll have an increased risk of bankruptcy.
Given the fact that you’d have enough dough to clear up your debt, bankruptcy seems a long shot after winning the lottery. But experts say lottery winners actually are at greater risk of bankruptcy. …
4. You’ll have to fight off a host of long-lost family members.
Jeff Motske, a financial planner and president of Trilogy Financial Services, headquartered in Huntington Beach, California, says lottery winners often become targets for long-lost relatives who knock on the door with one hand and hold the other palm up. Somehow they think when one family member wins the lotto, the whole family wins the lotto. …
5. You’ll be a target for a litany of lawsuits and scams.
Hoping to carve out a chunk of your fortune, Motske says lottery winners are often targets for bogus lawsuits because everyone starts to come after them. https://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/5-reasons-you-dont-want-win-lottery-money-1264.php
You also seem to have an increased risk of being killed (see http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/02/06/curse-winning-lottery.html).
Last year, it was reported that someone in North Carolina won the lottery again:
January 25, 2020
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina woman seems to have a knack for winning lottery scratch-off games.
The N.C. Education Lottery says in a news release that Linda Tate of Durham won a $1 million prize this week after playing the $10,000,000 Colossal Cash scratch-off game.
In August 2018, Tate won $4 million after playing Millionaire Bucks.
After required state and federal taxes were withheld, Tate took home $424,509 for her latest triumph. https://apnews.com/6fc570bbbcf461758a3f60488c1ca421
In the above report, we see that Linda Tate was not satisfied after winning USD$4,000,000, since she kept gambling. We also see that she ended up with less than 1/2 the USD$1,000,000 she was declared to have won.
The fact that Linda Tate’s name is in the news for winning, helps insure that any who know her, as well as many con artists, will be able to locate her.
Lotteries, sadly, are promoted by many governments around the world. Government taxes are the real winners.
Yet, many people fantasize about winning the lottery.
Many are convinced winning a large amount of money will improve their lives.
Yet, that is most often not the case.
Furthermore, most lose, of course, when they buy lottery tickets.
And, as I have written for years, the lottery is a tax on the poor.
The odds of winning the lottery are worse than most other forms of gambling.
And, reports by lottery winners show that they are often less happy after they win.
Gamblers, of course, typically lose.
Many deceive themselves about what they would do with large gambling winnings. Some gamblers seem to try to make some type of deal in their heads with God, hoping that He will decide that they should win.
A decade or so ago, I recall a scene from a movie called Bruce Almighty and the lottery. The premise of the movie was someone named Bruce (played by Jim Carry) complained about God and how he did not feel that God was doing His job right. So, in the movie, God allowed Bruce to be able to hear and answer prayers for a region.
It does not take long for Bruce to get overwhelmed by the process. So, for a time he decides to give everyone whatever they asked for. So, with the next lottery ticket drawing, all those in the area Bruce was responsible for, were allowed to win. The winners all acted very pleased when they won, until they realized that each would only get a few dollars as the prize was split among all who asked ‘God’ to win in that area. They were not pleased that they had to share the winnings with so many others.
The Apostle Paul wrote:
4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. (Philippians 2:4)
I suspect that many have prayed that God would allow them to win the lottery or other forms of gambling. Few, if any, have prayed that someone they are not close to, will win.
Years ago, I reported about gambling losses per adult by nation. Here is a listing, from that post, of the nations whose people lost the most money per adult:
- Australia
- Singapore
- Finland
- New Zealand
- United States
- Italy
- Ireland
- Norway
- Canada
- Sweden
- Britain
It was interesting to note that the American and Anglo-Saxon nations had six of the eleven top biggest gambling losing nations in the world.
Gambling often gets people to focus on getting something for nothing.
I believe that public lotteries often demotivate people to improve themselves financially. Many seem to give up on improving themselves and rely on buying lottery tickets as a means to tell themselves that they are trying to get out of poverty and other financial worries.
Instead of working harder, getting better job training, and/or improving education, many poor resign themselves that the lottery is their answer. They do not understand, What is the Meaning of Life?
Many purchasers of lottery tickets also do not heed the following:
31 Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Instead of seeking first the Kingdom of God, they seek to get what they can from others.
Of course, that is not limited to lottery ticket purchasers, but their focus suggests the way of get and not the loving way of give (though there can be exceptions).
Lotteries are not good for humanity. Governments should not promote them.
The Continuing Church of God put together the following on our Bible New Prophecy YouTube channel:
Is gambling a sin? What is sin? The gambling industry calls itself the gaming industry. Basically, they like to indicate that they are in the entertainment industry. And while that is slightly true, many people who gamble are not just playing games, but focused on winning money and hoping not to lose it. Is it ever appropriate for Christians to gamble? Who wins in gambling? Who loses in gambling? Which nations lose the most? What about government lotteries? Are lotteries good for society or a tax on the poor?
Here is a link to our video: Gambling: A Covetous Sin?
Since some have wondered why all Christians are not wealthy, and the Continuing Church of God put out the following sermonette on its ContinuingCOG channel:
Why Aren’t All Christians Multi-Millionaires?
In Malachi 3, God promises great blessings for those who pay their tithes and give offerings. So, why aren’t all real Christians who do so not multi-millionaires? Did Job and Jeremiah wonder why some of wicked were prosperous? Did the Apostle Peter have much silver or gold? Are winners of massive lottery prizes happier than before they won? What would happen if God provided massive financial prosperity to those who tithed? Does faith have anything to do with this? Would all real Christians benefit from vast amounts of monetary wealth? Does God want Christians to prosper and be in health? If so, why are there financial and health problems? Is the love of money a root of any kind of evil? What does God want from you? Are some blessings spiritual? Dr. Thiel answers these questions.
Here is a link to the related sermonette: Why Aren’t All Christians Multi-Millionaires?
Lotteries are not the answer. Seeking first the Kingdom of God is.
Some items of possibly related interest include:
Gambling and Sin: Is it a Sin for Christians to Gamble? What does the Bible reveal? A related video is Gambling: A Covetous Sin?
Ending Your FINANCIAL WORRIES How can people help themselves and others financially? Herbert W. Armstrong wrote this as a booklet on this important subject. A video of related interest would be: Dealing With Financial Worries.
Tithing Questions and Some Answers Answers questions about tithing and also addresses some non-biblical arguments against tithing. Should people tithe? Here is a link to a related video sermon Tithing Answers from the Bible.
Christians: Ambassadors for the Kingdom of God, Biblical instructions on living as a Christian This is a scripture-filled booklet for those wishing to live as a real Christian. A related sermon is also available: Christians are Ambassadors for the Kingdom of God.
Living as a Christian: How and Why? In what ways do Christians live differently than others. What about praying, fasting, tithing, holy days, and the world? There is also a YouTube video related to that also called: Living as a Christian: How and Why?
The Seven Laws of Success Herbert W. Armstrong had seven laws that he felt could help people become successful.
Christian Success Does the Bible teach that Christians are to be successful? Are there at least seven laws of success that Christians should follow? How does the Bible teach we are to become successfully spiritually? Does the Bible really teach that Christians should be successful physically? This video answers these questions and more from the Bible. An outline of some of the scriptures used is here: Christian Success Outline.
The MYSTERY of GOD’s PLAN: Why Did God Create Anything? Why did God make you? This free online book helps answers some of the biggest questions that human have, including the biblical meaning of life. Here is a link to three related sermons: Mysteries of God’s Plan, Mysteries of Truth, Sin, Rest, Suffering, and God’s Plan, and The Mystery of YOU.
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Saxon (non-Dutch) Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo-Saxon nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first? Here is a link to the Spanish version of this article: Anglo-América & las Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Information is also in the YouTube sermons titled Where are the Ten Lost Tribes? Why does it matter? and British are the Covenant People. A short YouTube of prophetic interest may be: Are Chinese threats against Australia for real?
Will the Anglo-Saxon-Celtic Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves? Will the lands of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand be divided? What about Jerusalem? What does Bible prophecy teach? Are there non-biblical prophecies that support this idea? Who will divide those lands? Who will end up with the lands and the people? Here is a link to a video titled Will the USA and other Anglo-nations be Divided and Their People Made Slaves? Here is a related item in the Spanish language ¿Serán divididas las naciones anglosajonas?
British are the Covenant People What do ‘British’ and ‘Britain’ mean in Hebrew? Are the descendants of the Anglo-Saxons people of the covenant? Does the British royal family connect to the throne of David? What does the Bible teach? What does history show us? Is there any DNA evidence related to British-Israelism? When did Christianity make it to the British Isles? Could Jeremiah have made it to the British Isles? What type of Christians made it to the British Isles? Did the last King of England believe in British Israelism?
Canada in Prophecy: What Does Bible Prophecy, Catholic Prophecy, and other Predictions Suggest About the Future of Canada? There are prophecies that suggest involvement with Canada. And many are not positive about its future. A sermon of related interest is also available: Canada in Prophecy.
Australia and New Zealand in Prophecy Do biblical prophecies help explain the wealth blessings for Australia and New Zealand? Might cursings from disobedience come in the 21st century? Here is a link to a related sermon: Australia and New Zealand: Origins and Prophecy.
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God This free online pdf booklet has answers many questions people have about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and explains why it is the solution to the issues the world is facing. Here are links to three related sermons: The World’s False Gospel, The Gospel of the Kingdom: From the New and Old Testaments, and The Kingdom of God is the Solution.
The Ten Commandments: The Decalogue, Christianity, and the Beast This is a free draft/unedited pdf book explaining the what the Ten Commandments are, where they came from, how early professors of Christ viewed them, and how various ones, including the Beast of Revelation, will oppose them. A related sermon is titled: The Ten Commandments and the Beast of Revelation.
What is the Meaning of Life? Who does God say is happy? What is your ultimate destiny? Do you really know? Does God actually have a plan for YOU personally? If you would like to watch videos covering subjects of this article, you can click on the following links: Why YOU? Why Do YOU Suffer? and What is the meaning of your lif
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