Billion Dollar Faith

When the lottery reached over 1.5 billion dollars everybody I knew bought a ticket. People were almost in frenzy as they talked about what they would do if they won. I walked in the office one morning and asked our merchandise buyer what he would do if he won the lottery.

“I’d disappear…” he said with the hint if a smile. “Oh really?” I said. “Where would you and your wife go?” I asked. He then repeated himself, “I’d disappear.” I looked at him thinking he was joking but he was as serious as a stake in the ground. I decided to let that go.

I walked my chipper self into my boss’ office and posed the same question to him. “I would disappear,” he said. “Be on one of the tropical islands.” “But what about the company?” I asked. “You guys could have it,” he said as if dropping a bad habit. Wow. I didn’t know he felt like that.

On the way to my office I ran into Marshall, our Chief of Staff whose management style reminds me of Attila the Hun. I thought I’d brighten up the day by asking him what he would do if he won 1.5 billion dollars in the lottery. “There’re a number of people I’d make disappear,” he said with a wry smile. I kept on walking.

I sat at my desk wondering if people won all that money why would they want to disappear (or make others disappear). Wouldn’t that be time to celebrate life instead of run and hide from it? This discouraged me because I was looking for a reason to play the lottery myself.

Long-story-short: I’m a Christian who has a wonderful relationship with God. But there’s a part of me that wants to enjoy life way too much here in a world which is not my home—heaven is my home. Years ago I went searching for the answer to this question: Can Christians play the lottery? I wanted to justify why I would still play the lottery if every indication from God told me that if I had all that money I would be interested in doing what I wanted to do instead of doing what God gave me to do.

I thought, yea, see…if I won the lottery I would tithe to the church and set up programs for the homeless and donate to the starving people in Beverly Hills—I mean Africa…yea right. God knows my heart and He knows me better than I know myself. I say all this up front but I know that I would have 1.5 billion reasons to want to do what I want to do. I’d probably disappear just like my co-workers.

I searched the Bible and found that “gambling” and “lottery” weren’t even there. I called in on two different Christian radio talk programs and the interpretation I got back was that playing the lottery was like drinking alcohol where some Christians don’t struggle with it and can stay blessed but for others it’s a vehicle for sin. A deacon I asked admitted that he played the lottery but only when he was prayed up. (What in the hell does that mean?) That left me to talk about it with God alone and every time I brought it up to Him I was reminded that having money was okay, but for me too much money would be a temptation to go astray.

In the Biblical story of Jonah most people think the story was about the great fish, but for me it’s not. What intrigued me about the story was that Jonah had money enough to buy a ticket to get on a ship to go away from what God wanted him to do. If I won 1.5 billion dollars I would be Jonah every day.

God placed on my heart that I don’t need a billion dollars in order to do His will; all I need is a little faith to get me started and move me from Point A to Point B. What does a little faith mean? It means that no matter where I am today, no matter what state I am in, I believe that I still have a God-given purpose in life and my job is to find that purpose and walk in it.

This perspective helps me work through the high times and low times—whether I’m working a job that I love or fighting a job that I hate; whether I’m healthy as a horse or struggling with an addiction like a crack addict; whether I am free as a bird or confined like a jailbird; and whether I have a billion dollars or I am broke—when I believe that today I still have a purpose then life takes on a bright new meaning. And it all starts with having a little faith.

How do you get a little faith? Here is what can help you get there:

• Admit that you don’t have all the answers. I guess most people would call this humility which is often shunned because we live in a world which can be cutthroat where the message is that you better get yours before somebody else takes it. But I beg to differ that admitting that you don’t have the answers to everything is a sign of strength rather than weakness. By admitting that I am not a know-it-all frees me to search for true meaning and it allows me to make contact with some very bright people. It also opens the door for me to gain more understanding and more abilities to do greater things.
• Review your history. I have some great memories but I also have some challenging ones, and sometimes I avoid looking back because I don’t want to relive some of the painful experiences. But when I do a careful review of my history I realize that despite all that may have happened to me I am still here today, and if I am still here then there must be something else that God has for me to do because He sure could have taken me off this planet at any time. To take the time to look back at all that God has brought you through.
• Show more gratitude. By showing gratitude you are admitting that it’s not all about you, and when you can admit that not only do other people appreciate you more, but God smiles on you. Gratitude is a sign that you believe in something greater than yourself. It is the underpinnings of faith which increases your ability to believe that you are hear for a reason. So show more gratitude and it will lead to showing more faith, even if it’s just a little faith.

So don’t think you need a billion dollars in order to have a great life, know and understand that to God having a little faith is like having billion dollar faith and God can use that to give you on the job success every day.