Have you ever thought about winning
the lottery? In California, the lottery
jackpot has been increasing greatly and thousands of people are rushing out to hopefully purchase the winning ticket. Many people dream about how wonderful life would be to have millions of dollars. However, money does not always bring happiness. In fact, it often brings quite the opposite.
Erika Earnhart of Lexington Park, Maryland won one million dollars with her lottery ticket. “I thought I’d be on easy street the rest of my life,” said Erika. She bought a new house, gifts for her family, a new car, and then she went traveling. Her life of ease only lasted a short while. Now after two divorces, an unresolved child custody case, and two knee operations without any health insurance to cover the costs, Erika is deeply in debt. If she would have known what would happen after winning the money, she says, “I would have torn up the ticket or put it in someone else’s name.”
Frank Capaci was the sole winner of a $195 million Powerball jackpot in 1998. Most people would think he would be the happiest man alive. But when I saw the Newsweek article about Capaci entitled, “Big money, Big Trouble,” I knew he had joined the ranks of those whose quest for happiness in riches had turned sour. Capaci’s closest friends refuse to speak to him, he is not welcome at his former neighborhood hangout, and may soon face a lawsuit. He will not speak with any media requests, has unlisted his phone number, shreds reams of daily unwanted mail, and has kept his job as a groundskeeper. His son Tony says, “So much has happened that has made our lives so complex… There are too many allegations and too many negative words.” Capaci further states, “You don’t know the problems that the money has brought me.” For Frank Capaci and many other lottery winners, big money brings big problems.
One of the biggest destroyers of an individual or a family are money problems. Financial dilemmas have ruined countless marriages and families, broken friendships, and tragically, have severed people’s faith and trust in God. The Bible says plainly in I Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” Money itself is not evil. The problems arise when we love the money. When people try to find happiness in riches and material things they will surely fail. The key is found in the following verse, “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy” (I Tim. 6:17). God is our key to real happiness. We can save a lot of heartache and pain by finding true happiness in God.
Ly Lan Nguyen
